J 


.  PSYCHOLOGY 
AND  COMMON   LIFE 


A  Survey  of  the    Present  Results  of  Psychical 

Research  with  Special  Reference  to  Their 

Bearings  upon  the    Interests  of 

Everyday   Life 


BY 


Frank  Sargent  Hoffman,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  Psychology,  Union  College 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

dbe  f^nicfterbocltec  press 


Copyright,  1903 

BY 

FRANK  SARGENT  HOFFMAN 


Published,  April,  1903 
Reprinted,  July,  1907  ;  February,  1912 


cDUC. 

PSYCH. 

LIBRARY 


Vbe  fmicltecbocliec  ptess,  VUw  Ketk 


TO    MY    HELPMEET 


331164 


PREFACE 

THE  object  of  this  book  is  to  select  the  most  im- 
portant facts  from  the  great  mass  of  material 
now  accumulated  by  students  of  psychical  research, 
describe  them  in  language  easily  apprehended  by 
the  general  reader,  and  point  out  their  bearing  upon 
the  interests  of  everyday  life.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  psychology  or 
closely  to  correlate  the  topics  discussed.  Several  of 
the  chapters  can  be  intelligently  read  by  themselves, 
if  desired,  provided  the  most  elementary  facts  of 
mind  are  kept  clearly  in  view. 

Not  many  generations  ago  the  all-absorbing  theme 
was  physics  and  little  attention  was  paid  to  other 
studies.  Later  biology  became  the  dominant  science 
and  gave  direction  to  the  current  of  thought.  Now 
psychology  has  come  to  the  front  and  holds  undis- 
puted sway.  This  is  easily  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  the  forces  of  nature  have  no  real  signifi- 
cance except  for  life,  and  life  has  no  meaning  except 
for  mind.  Everybody  is  dominantly  interested  in 
himself  and  the  working  of  his  mental  powers.  He 
cannot  long  be  diverted  from  this  study  when  once 
he  has  developed  far  enough  to  pursue  it.  No 
sooner  has  he  found  out  a  little  about  the  world 


vi  Preface 

around  him  than  he  becomes  anxious  to  know  what 
he  can  of  the  world  within. 

The  author's  indebtedness  to  the  work  of  others  is 
so  great  that  it  is  impossible  here  to  make  individ- 
ual acknowledgements.  He  has  tried  to  do  so  as 
far  as  possible  in  the  text. 

F.  S.  H. 

Union  College,  March,  1903. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

TAGK 

The  Brain  and  its  Relation  to  Intelligence        i 

CHAPTER  II 
Attention  as  the  Basis  of  the  Mental  Life      27 

CHAPTER  III 
How  AND  What  we  Remember  ...       48 

CHAPTER  IV 

Hallucinations  and  their  Relation  to  Men- 
tal Development 76 

CHAPTER  V 
The  Condition  of  the  Mind  in  Sleep    .        .     103 

CHAPTER  VI 

Hypnotism,  its  History  and  Present  Status    127 

CHAPTER  VII 

The  Relation  of  the  Mind  to  Disease  .     159 

vii 


viii  Contents 

CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Healings  of  Christian  Science  and  the 

Miracles  of  Lourdes  ....     187 

CHAPTER  IX 
Mind-reading  and  Telepathy  .         ,         .221 

CHAPTER  X 

The  Hypothesis  of  a  Secondary  Self    .        .     250 
Index 283 


PSYCHOLOGY  AND  COMMON  LIFE 


PSYCHOLOGY  AND  COMMON 

LIFE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   BRAIN  AND   ITS   RELATION  TO  INTELLIGENCE 

STUDENTS  of  anatomy  and  physiology  tell  us 
that  the  human  body  long  ago  reached  the 
climax  of  its  powers.  Nearly  all  of  its  organs,  they 
assert,  have  already  undergone  a  marked  degenera- 
tion. Over  seventy  of  them,  at  least,  have  so  far 
atrophied  by  centuries  of  disuse  as  to  be  no  longer 
of  any  known  service. 

Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  sense 
of  smell  in  a  dog  or  cat  is  far  more  highly  developed 
than  in  a  human  being ;  but  few  realise  to  what  ex- 
tent this  sense  has  lost  its  power  in  the  civilised  man 
of  to-day  as  compared  with  a  savage.  The  Arabs 
of  the  Sahara  desert,  it  is  said,  can  smell  a  fire  thirty 
or  forty  miles  distant.  But  this  sense  in  the  civil- 
ised man  of  Europe  and  America  is  now  so  weak 
and  uncertain  that  he  rarely  places  any  reliance 
upon  it  in  determining  upon  a  course  of  action. 

J 


2        Psychology  and  Common  Life 

In  spite  of  all  the  ear  of  man  has  been  able  to  do 
in  the  past  there  is  abundant  reason  for  holding 
that  it  is  fast  becoming  what  another  describes  as, 
at  its  best,  "a  squat  and  degenerate  member." 
Whenever  we  want,  for  any  reason,  to  enlarge  our 
capacity  for  hearing  we  no  longer  try  to  develop  the 
ear  to  the  required  efficiency,  but  at  once  resort  to 
some  mechanical  contrivance  for  supplementing  its 
waning  power. 

Much  has  been  written  in  the  past,  and  justly, 
about  the  marvellous  construction  and  exquisite 
adaptation  to  its  end  of  the  human  eye.  But  the 
sad  fact  is  that  many  of  the  lower  animals  can  now 
see  much  farther  and  more  accurately  than  any  man. 
Distorted  and  short-sighted  eyes  are  the  rule  rathi^r 
than  the  exception  among  many,  if  not  all,  highly 
civilised  nations. 

Even  the  hand  of  man  is  fast  being  relegated  to  a 
far  more  subordinate  position  in  the  human  system 
than  it  once  occupied.  Its  degeneracy  began  when 
human  beings  first  commenced  to  use  tools.  And 
when  they  compelled  steam  and  electricity  to  make 
the  tools  do  their  work,  the  possible  degeneracy  of 
the  hand  knew  almost  no  limit. 

But  the  greatest  decline  of  all  is  in  human  muscle. 
Professor  Drummond  puts  it  none  too  strongly  when 
he  sdiys{Ascetit  of  Man,  p.  107):  "For  mere  muscle, 
that  on  which  his  whole  life  once  depended,  man  has 
now  almost  no  use.  Agility,  nimbleness,  strength, 
once  a  stern  necessity,  are  either  a  luxury  or  a 
pastime." 

But  why  is  it  that  with  all  this  degeneracy  of  his 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence  3 

bodily  powers  man  can  keep  up  unceasingly  such  a 
vigorous  battle  for  existence  on  this  planet?  How 
can  he  make  such  rapid  strides  from  generation  to 
generation  in  subduing  the  earth  and  gaining  do- 
minion over  it? 

The  reason  is  that  there  is  one  organ  in  the  body 
that  is  not  degenerating,  an  organ  that,  so  far  from 
showing  any  diminution  of  its  power,  has  never  de- 
veloped at  such  a  rapid  rate  as  at  present,  and  to 
whose  future  development  it  is  not  within  the  power 
of  man  to  set  any  conceivable  limit.  This  organ  is 
the  brain,  and  it  is  just  because  the  brain  is  assum- 
ing more  and  more  the  absolute  control  of  the  body 
and  making  it  subservient  to  its  purposes  that  all  the 
other  organs  are  sinking  into  the  background.  The 
truth  is  that  the  brain  is  fast  taking  away  their 
occupation.  It  is  all  the  time  devising  new  and 
better  ways  for  doing  the  work  that  they  once  did 
acceptably,  but  cannot  do  acceptably  any  longer. 

It  is  not  in  size  or  weight,  however,  that  the  brain 
is  making  such  marvellous  advances,  but  in  com- 
plexity. In  respect  to  volume  it  has  already  attained 
its  appointed  limit.  Professor  Cleland  {journal  of 
Anatomy,  vol.  xxiii.,  p.  3605"^^.)  has  fully  demon- 
strated that  the  cranium  of  man  long  ago  reached 
the  climax  of  its  development.  And  this  fact,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  puts  a  limit  upon  the  quan- 
tity of  brain  substance  that  can  be  stowed  away 
within  it.  The  absolute  amount  of  brain-matter  in 
different  skulls  is,  of  course,  not  always  the  same. 
The  average  weight  for  an  adult  male  among  civilised 


4        Psychology  and  Common  Life 

peoples  is  about  50  ounces,  and  for  a  female  44 
ounces.  Many  human  brains  rise  far  above  this 
average  and  many  also  fall  far  below  it.  It  is  said 
that  the  brain  of  Lord  Byron  weighed  79  ounces 
and  that  of  Cromwell  78  ounces.  These  are  prob- 
ably overestimates.  For  we  have  no  evidence  that 
they  were  made  with  any  scientific  accuracy,  either 
as  to  time  or  manner.  Daniel  Webster,  whose  head 
was  likened  by  Sydney  Smith  to  the  dome  of  a  ca- 
thedral, had  a  brain  that  weighed  53.5  ounces. 
Agassiz's  brain  weighed  53.4  ounces,  and  Chalmers's 
53  ounces. 

But  a  great  head  is  no  conclusive  proof  of  great 
intelligence.  For  many  idiots  have  abnormally 
large  heads.  An  idiotic  boy  fourteen  years  of  age 
is  reported  whose  brain-weight  was  60  ounces.  In 
spite  of  all  the  attention  that  has  been  paid  to  the 
subject  it  is  still  a  disputed  question  whether  idiots 
have  larger  or  smaller  brains  than  people  of  average 
mental  powers.  Probably  the  results  of  recent  in- 
vestigation of  the  subject  do  not  alter  materially  the 
statement  made  long  ago  by  Dr.  Ireland  in  his  work 
on  idiocy,  that  "three  fifths  of  idiots  have  larger 
heads  than  men  of  ordinary  intelligence."  It  is  ad- 
mitted by  all,  however,  that  the  position  taken  by 
Dr.  Calderwood,  in  his  work  on  TJic  Relation  of  Mind 
and  Brain,  is  a  correct  one,  that  "below  30  ounces 
in  weight  [of  brain],  or  below  17  inches  in  circum- 
ference of  cranium,  uniformly  implies  imbecility." 

There  are  only  about  thirty  cases  of  remarkably 
small  brains  on  record,  twenty  being  males  and  ten 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence  5 

females.  One  of  the  most  wonderful  of  them  all  is 
the  case  of  an  Italian  woman  by  the  name  of  Gran- 
doni,  who  was  born  in  1830  and  died  in  1872.  A 
careful  record  of  her  case  was  kept  by  Professor 
Cardona  and  a  microscopic  examination  of  her  brain 
was  made  by  Dr.  Severini  of  Perugia.  The  weight 
of  her  brain  was  a  little  over  9  ounces — probably  the 
lightest-headed  adult  of  whose  doings  we  have  any 
knowledge.  Grandoni  learned  to  walk  and  to  talk 
not  much  later  than  other  children.  She  had  good 
sight  and  hearing  and  could  answer  simple  questions. 
She  usually  smiled  when  she  saw  others  smiling,  but 
was  never  known  to  laugh  at  a  joke.  She  was  very 
fond  of  amorous  poetry  and  showed  decided  erotic 
tendencies.  As  she  grew  older  she  took  to  a  wan- 
dering life  and  became  so  extremely  fond  of  dancing 
that  she  spent  much  of  her  time  whirling  about  in 
grotesque  movements  to  her  own  singing.  Her 
brain  when  examined  was  found  to  be  chiefly  de- 
ficient in  the  posterior  parts,  the  frontal  region  being 
fairly  well  developed.  Grandoni's  case  cannot  be 
regarded  as  an  ordinary  example  of  microcephaly  or 
small-headedness,  for  her  intelligence  was  decidedly 
exceptional  for  one  of  this  class. 

Cioccio,  another  Italian  woman  whose  case  has  been 
somewhat  carefully  studied,  had  a  brain-weight  of 
about  10  ounces.  She  was  deaf  and  dumb  and  ex- 
tremely stupid.  Bischoff,  who  describes  the  case  of 
another  microcephale  by  the  name  of  Helene  Becker, 
says  of  her  that  she  had  so  slight  a  degree  of  intelli- 
gence that  "she  knew  her  own  name,  but  otherwise 
paid  little  attention  to  what  people  said  to  her.     She 


6        Psychology  and  Common  Life 

could  only  speak  one  word,  but  used  two  sounds." 
The  woman  reported  by  Mr.  Gore  as  having  a 
brain-weight  of  lo  ounces  and  5  grains  "could  only 
say  a  few  words,  such  as  good,  child,  mama, 
morning,  with  tolerable  distinctness,  but  without 
connection  or  clear  meaning,  and  was  quite  incapa- 
ble of  anything  like  conversation."  These  and 
other  similar  cases  clearly  establish  the  position 
taken  above,  that  below  30  ounces  of  brain-weight 
or  below  17  inches  of  circumference  of  cranium  uni- 
formly implies  imbecility. 

It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  many  people  whose 
brains  are  far  below  the  average  in  size  and  weight 
pass  through  life  without  attracting  any  special  at- 
tention for  ignorance  or  stupidity.  It  has  often 
been  shown  that  persons  who  have  occupied  quite 
respectable  positions  in  society  were  as  deficient  in 
brains  as  well-known  idiots.  They  lived  such  pro- 
saic lives,  their  thoughts  ran  in  such  narrow  chan- 
nels, day  after  day  going  over  the  same  hackneyed 
themes,  that  no  occasion  offered  itself  for  showing 
how  stupid  they  actually  were.  Very  few  brain 
cells  will  enable  most  people  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  their  ordinary  tasks.  As  Dr.  J.  Crichton 
Browne  remarks :  "It  is  astonishing  how  little  real 
thinking  will  suffice  to  carry  a  well  trained  man 
through  an  average  day  or  month  of  an  average 
life." 

Let  some  variation  in  the  usual  routine  of  duties 
be  attempted  and  most  people  are  very  quickly 
thrown  into  mental  chaos,  either  because  the  brain 
substance  necessary  to  meet  the  emergency  is  en- 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence  7 

tirely  wanting,  or  because  the  portion  of  the  brain 
that  ought  to  be  in  readiness  for  action  has  already 
atrophied  through  long  disuse. 

It  must  be  acknowledged,  however,  that  great  in- 
jury may  be  done  to  certain  portions  of  the  brain 
without  a  fully  corresponding  injury  to  the  mental 
powers.  In  Science  for  April,  1885,  the  case  of  a 
man  was  described  who  had  been  shot  by  a  bullet 
that  went  entirely  through  the  head,  starting  at  the 
middle  of  the  forehead.  A  tube  was  introduced 
following  the  course  of  the  bullet  of  such  a  material 
as  would  allow  the  refuse  matter  to  exude.  In  two 
weeks  the  man  was  about  his  usual  business  ap- 
parently as  well  as  ever.  The  only  decidedly  notice- 
able mental  loss  was  a  weakened  memory.  Dr. 
Bateman,  in  his  work  on  aphasia,  tells  us  that  in  the 
year  1825  two  officers,  quartered  at  Tours,  as  the  re- 
sult of  a  quarrel  fought  a  duel  in  which  one  of  them 
was  shot  by  a  ball  that  entered  at  one  temple  and 
made  its  exit  at  the  other.  "The  patient  survived 
six  months,"  he  says,  "without  any  sign  of  paralysis 
or  of  lesion  of  articulation,  nor  was  there  the  least 
hesitation  in  the  expression  of  his  thoughts. "  At 
his  death  it  was  found  that  the  ball  had  traversed 
the  two  frontal  lobes  at  their  centre. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  case  of  injury  to  the 
brain  on  record  is  that  now  widely  known  as  "the 
American  Crowbar  Case."  The  skull  of  the  man  in 
question  is  preserved  in  the  Medical  Museum  of 
Harvard  University.  The  case  was  first  described 
by  Dr.  Bigelow  of  Quincy,  Mass.,  at  the  time  of  the 
accident,  but  as  Dr.  Ferrier,  in  his  Localisation  of 


8        Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Cerebral  Diseases,  gives  a  more  condensed  account 
of  it,  we  quote  from  him : 

"The  subject  of  the  lesion  was  a  young  man,  Phineas 
P.  Gage,  aged  twenty-five.  While  he  was  engaged  tamping 
a  blast  charge  in  a  rock  with  a  pointed  iron  bar  3  feet  7 
inches  in  length,  i^  inches  in  diameter,  and  weighing 
13^  pounds,  the  charge  suddenly  exploded.  The  iron 
bar,  propelled  its  pointed  end  first,  entered  at  the  left 
angle  of  the  patient's  jaw,  and  passed  clean  through  the 
top  of  his  head,  near  the  sagittal  suture  in  the  frontal 
region,  and  was  picked  up  at  some  distance  covered  with 
'blood  and  brains.'  The  patient  was  for  a  moment 
stunned,  but,  within  an  hour  after  the  accident,  he  was 
able  to  walk  up  a  long  flight  of  stairs  and  give  the  surgeon 
an  intelligible  account  of  the  injury  he  had  sustained. 
His  life  was  naturally  for  a  long  time  despaired  of  but  he 
ultimately  recovered,  and  lived  twelve  and  a  half  years 
afterwards.  Unfortunately,  he  died  (of  epileptic  con- 
vulsions) at  a  distance  from  medical  supervision,  and  no 
post-mortem  examination  of  the  brain  was  made;  but, 
through  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Harlow  (of  Woburn),  the 
skull  was  exhumed  and  preserved.  Upon  this  the  exact 
seat  of  the  lesion  can  be  determined." 

Some  have  quoted  this  case  as  showing  that  no 
permanent  physical  or  mental  injury  resulted  to  Mr. 
Gage  from  this  experience.  But  the  facts  are  quite 
the  opposite.  Dr.  Harlow,  who  made  a  careful 
study  of  the  case,  describes  his  mental  condition  as 
follows : 

"  His  contractors,  who  regarded  him  as  the  most  effi- 
cient and  capable  foreman  in  their  employ  previous  to  his 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence  9 

injury,  considered  the  change  in  his  mind  so  marked  that 
they  could  not  give  him  his  place  again.  The  equi- 
librium or  balance,  so  to  speak,  between  his  intellectual 
faculties  and  animal  propensities,  seems  to  have  been 
destroyed.  He  is  fitful,  irreverent,  indulging  at  times  in 
the  grossest  profanity  (which  was  not  previously  his 
custom),  manifesting  but  little  deference  for  his  fellows, 
impatient  of  restraint  or  advice  when  it  conflicts  with  his 
desires,  at  times  pertinaciously  obstinate,  yet  capricious 
and  vacillating,  devising  many  plans  of  future  operation, 
which  are  no  sooner  arranged  than  they  are  abandoned 
in  turn  for  others  appearing  more  feasible.  A  child  in 
his  intellectual  capacity  and  manifestations,  he  has  the 
animal  passions  of  a  strong  man.  Previous  to  his  injury, 
though  untrained  in  the  schools,  he  possessed  a  well 
balanced  mind,  and  was  looked  upon  by  those  who  knew 
him  as  a  shrewd,  smart,  business  man,  very  energetic 
and  persistent  in  executing  all  his  plans  of  operation.  In 
this  regard  his  mind  was  radically  changed,  so  decidedly, 
that  his  friends  and  acquaintances  said  he  was  '  no  longer 
Gage.'  " 

Here  we  need  also  to  note  another  set  of  facts 
that  go  to  show  that  it  is  possible  for  a  person  to  be 
an  idiot  from  having  too  many  brains  for  his  skull 
as  truly  as  from  having  too  few.  In  the  one  case 
he  is  literally  suffering  from  "big  head,"  in  the  other 
he  is  properly  described  as  "rattle-brained."  The 
relation  of  the  mass  of  the  brain  to  the  cavity  of  the 
skull  in  which  it  is  stored  is,  in  the  normal  condition, 
so  exact  that  any  increase  in  the  substance  of  the 
brain  due  to  an  excessive  flow  of  blood  to  the  brain 
or  to  the  formation  of  a  tumor,  may  cause  the  outer 


lo      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

portion  of  the  brain  to  press  against  the  hard  walls 
of  the  cavity  in  such  a  way  as  to  induce  a  congestion 
of  the  whole  organ. 

Dr.  James  Sidney,  of  Edinburgh,  tells  us  of  a  case 
he  attended  which  is  in  point  (quoted  from  Carpen- 
ter).    The  patient,  he  says, 

"  was  struck  by  a  revolving  crane  handle  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  left  parietal  bone,  producing  a  compound  com- 
minuted fracture,  with  a  protrusion  of  the  brain  as  large 
as  a  bantam's  egg.  After  admission  to  the  hospital  the 
case  did  well;  about  ten  or  twelve  small  pieces  of  bone 
were  removed,  the  protruding  brain  sloughed  off,  the 
wound  healed  over,  and  the  man  was  discharged  about 
six  weeks  after  admission  without  having  shown  any  bad 
symptoms  or  taken  one  single  dose  of  medicine  during 
his  stay.  Previous  to  admission  he  was  misanthropic, 
lived  in  a  hut  alone,  washed  his  own  clothes,  cooked  his 
own  food,  and  seemed  peculiar  in  many  ways.  A  month 
after  his  dismissal  from  the  hospital  he  married  and  ever 
afterwards  conducted  himself  as  a  most  respectable 
member  of  society,  showing  none  of  his  former  pe- 
culiarities." 

Dr.  Allen  Starr,  Professor  of  Nervous  Diseases  in 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  in  New 
York,  recently  reported  a  case  of  special  interest  in 
this  regard  that  had  come  within  his  own  practice. 
A  lad  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  belonging  to  a 
good  family  and  of  excellent  disposition  and  habits, 
suddenly  developed  such  a  violent  temper  that  the 
slightest  rebuff  would  throw  him  into  an  uncontroll- 
able passion.     At  times  he  became  so  profane  in  his 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         n 

language  and  so  abusive  of  all  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact  that  nothing  but  physical  force  would 
keep  him  within  reasonable  limits.  After  all  hope 
of  his  improvement  by  ordinary  means  had  been 
abandoned  by  his  parents  Dr.  Starr  was  allowed  to 
experiment  upon  him  in  any  way  he  saw  fit.  He 
had  kept  a  careful  record  of  the  boy  for  some 
months  and  was  confident  that  an  abnormal  con- 
dition of  a  certain  portion  of  the  brain  which  he 
located  was  the  chief  cause  of  his  trouble.  He 
called  in  two  of  his  fellow-professors,  who  were 
skilled  surgeons,  and  had  them  trepan  the  skull  and 
probe  for  the  diseased  spot.  They  found  it  at  once 
and  removed  a  knotted  portion  of  the  brain  substance 
about  the  size  of  a  large  walnut.  In  a  few  days 
the  boy  was  in  his  normal  condition  again  and  has 
since  shown  no  indication  of  departing  from  it. 

In  the  Medical  Record  for  November  21,  1885, 
Dr.  Carlos  F.  MacDonald,  of  Cayuga  County,  State 
of  New  York,  gives  an  account  of  another  interest- 
ing case  in  this  relation  that  deserves  mention.  A 
man  in  one  of  the  families  where  he  was  physician, 
as  the  result  of  an  injury  received  while  out  hunting, 
quite  suddenly  became  a  raving  maniac.  After  a 
careful  study  of  the  matter  he  decided  that  the  chief 
trouble  was  in  the  frontal  region  of  the  brain.  He 
introduced  a  hypodermic  needle  in  such  a  way  as 
to  reach  the  diseased  spot.  A  cyst  was  found 
there  on  the  evacuation  of  which  the  patient  was 
entirely  restored  to  his  normal  health  both  of  mind 
and  body. 

A  case  has  recently  been  reported  from  Chicago 


12      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

of  a  young  girl  who  had  the  use  of  her  eyes  and 
limbs  completely  restored  to  her  after  being  two 
years  totally  blind  and  a  paralytic  by  the  removal  of 
a  comparatively  slight  foreign  substance  from  a  tract 
in  the  brain. 

It  is  quite  possible  for  a  person  to  be  deprived  by 
disease  or  accident  of  such  external  organs  as  the 
eye  and  ear  and  still  have  a  normal  brain  and  even 
more  than  ordinary  mental  power.  The  famous 
case  of  Laura  Bridgman  is  here  in  point.  Professor 
Henry  H.  Donaldson,  of  Clarke  University,  has 
very  fully  described  her  case  in  two  articles,  entitled 
"Anatomical  Observations  on  the  Brain  and  Several 
Sense-organs  of  the  Blind  Deaf-mute,  Laura  Dewey 
Bridgman,"  published  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Psychology,  September,  1890,  and  December,  1891. 
Laura  Bridgman  was  born  December  21,  1829. 
When  about  two  years  of  age  she  had  a  severe 
attack  of  scarlet  fever  which  resulted  in  the  suppura- 
tion of  both  eyes  and  both  ears,  and  the  almost  total 
loss  of  taste  and  smell.  In  1837,  when  nearly  eight 
years  of  age,  she  was  brought  to  the  Perkins  Insti- 
tute for  the  Blind  in  South  Boston,  Mass.  Dr. 
Howe,  the  Director  of  the  Institution,  devoted  many 
months,  and  even  years,  of  his  time  to  her  educa- 
tion. Her  sense  of  touch  became  so  acute  that 
Dickens  says  that  she  recognised  his  brother  after 
two  years*  absence  simply  by  feeling  of  his  hand. 
It  was  through  this  sense  that  she  received  and 
made  known  all  her  sensations  and  thoughts.  In 
the  course  of  her  lifetime  she  became  the  author  of 
a  journal,  three  autobiographical  sketches,  and  sev- 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         13 

eral  poems,  all  of  which  show  more  than  the  average 
power  of  thought.  She  died  at  the  Institute  in  her 
sixtieth  year,  retaining  to  the  last  the  normal  use 
of  her  mental  powers.  Her  brain  was  secured  by 
President  G.  Stanley  Hall  and  thoroughly  studied 
by  Professor  Donaldson.  No  especial  defects  were 
found  in  it  that  would  not  naturally  result  from  the 
disuse  for  a  lifetime  of  most  of  her  senses. 

The  case  of  Helen  Keller  is  another  example  of 
the  same  sort.  She  has  been  deprived  of  sight, 
hearing,  taste,  and  smell  since  her  eighth  year.  In 
1900,  when  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  she  passed 
the  entrance  examinations  for  Harvard,  and  is  now 
a  member  of  the  junior  class  in  Radcliffe  College. 
At  the  lectures  she  is  invariably  accompanied  by 
Miss  Sullivan,  who  sits  beside  her  and  gives  her  in 
the  manual  language  whatever  the  instructor  may 
be  saying.  Her  examination  papers  are  in  the 
raised-point  system,  and  her  answers  she  writes 
upon  a  typewriter,  in  the  use  of  which  she  is  an  ex- 
pert. It  is  altogether  likely  that  her  brain,  if  ever 
examined  anatomically,  will  be  found  to  be  as 
healthy  and  normal  as  that  of  Laura  Bridgman. 

It  is  probable  that  many  other  blind  deaf-mutes 
are  not  defective  in  brain  substance  any  more  than 
in  the  two  cases  referred  to  above.  They  are  cut 
off  from  most  of  the  knowledge  of  the  external 
world  possessed  by  the  ordinary  individual  simply 
because  of  defective  external  organs.  But  it  is  pos- 
sible for  persons  who  have  perfect  external  eyes  and 
ears  to  be  blind  and  deaf  as  well  as  for  persons  who 
have  no  eyes  and  ears  at  all.     For  all  hearing  and 


14      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

seeing  take  place  in  the  little  nuclei  of  cells  in  the 
brain  that  are  devoted  to  these  ends.  If  they  are 
wanting  there  will  be  no  sight  or  hearing,  however 
well  developed  the  external  organs  may  be.  And 
if  they  are  in  good  working  condition  some  action 
within  the  brain  itself  may  throw  them  into  the 
same  condition  they  would  be  in  if  actually  affected 
by  some  outside  object.  If  this  happens  the  person 
will,  to  some  extent,  see  and  hear,  even  though  the 
external  organs  are  entirely  wanting  or  have  no 
chance  to  act  at  all. 

The  brain  centres  may  easily  be  put  into  an  ab- 
normal condition  by  certain  drugs  and  intoxicating 
drinks.  The  opium  and  hasheesh  eater  as  well  as 
the  drunkard  see  and  hear  in  their  deliriums  just  as 
truly  as  they  do  in  real  life.  In  just  the  same  way 
we  actually  make  our  mouths  water  at  the  thought 
of  a  delicious  peach  or  shiver  all  over  at  the  recol- 
lection of  a  disagreeable  experience  with  an  icicle. 

As  is  well  known,  the  brain  is  divided  by  ana- 
tomists into  three  principal  parts,  called,  respectively, 
the  cerebrum,  the  cerebellum,  and  the  medulla  ob- 
longata. The  cerebrum  in  the  lowest  vertebrates  is 
very  insignificant  in  size  and  importance  as  com- 
pared with  the  other  parts  of  the  brain,  but  in  man 
it  occupies  four  fifths  of  the  entire  cranium  and  is 
now  almost  universally  regarded  as  the  seat  of  all 
the  mental  powers.  If  this  is  removed  the  functions 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  life,  such  as  breath- 
ing, eating,  digestion,  and  the  like,  may  all  go  on 
uninterrupted,  for  they  are  attended  to  by  the 
medulla  oblongata.     But  there  will  be  no  intellect- 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         15 

ual  guidance  or  volitional  control.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  cerebellum  be  extirpated,  consciousness 
will  still  continue  and  there  will  be  no  radical  dis- 
turbance of  the  mental  powers.  These  experiments 
of  cutting  out  the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum  and 
noting  the  effects  have  often  been  performed  upon 
dogs  and  other  animals,  and  many  persons  are 
doubtless  in  existence  minus  a  large  portion  of  one 
or  the  other.  The  cerebrum  is  divided  into  two 
hemispheres,  both  of  which  are  connected  with  the 
activities  of  the  mind.  If  one  is  impaired  or  de- 
stroyed its  work  is  done,  in  part  at  least,  by  the 
other.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  however,  for  which 
there  seems  to  be  no  adequate  explanation,  that  in- 
telligence in  right-handed  individuals  resides  chiefly 
in  the  left  hemisphere  of  the  brain  and  in  left-handed 
people  in  the  right  hemisphere. 

Each  hemisphere  of  the  cerebrum  is  divided  by 
fissures  into  five  principal  lobes,  called  the  frontal, 
the  temporal,  the  central,  the  parietal,  and  the  oc- 
cipital. The  fissure  of  Sylvius  is  between  the  frontal 
and  temporal  lobes  and  the  fissure  of  Rolando  begins 
near  the  fissure  of  Sylvius  and  extends  upwards  to 
the  central  lobe.  It  is  around  these  two  fissures 
that  intelligence  largely  centres,  and  the  mental 
ability  of  an  individual  is  best  measured,  other 
things  being  equal,  by  the  depth  of  these  fissures. 
For  the  surface  of  each  hemisphere  is  by  no  means 
a  plain  one,  but  consists  of  a  complicated  series 
of  convolutions  and  intervening  fissures.  By  this 
arrangement  a  greatly  increased  superficial  area 
is   secured  without  an   increase  in  volume.      The 


1 6      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

intelligence  of  which  any  being  is  capable  depends 
upon  the  extent  of  this  superficial  area, — hence 
upon  the  depth  of  the  fissures  between  the  con- 
stituent parts. 

A  closer  examination  of  these  hemispheres  reveals 
the  fact  that  the  entire  inner  portion  is  a  mass  of 
white  matter  consisting  of  nerve  fibres,  and  the  tis- 
sues in  which  they  are  imbedded,  called  by  Virchow 
nerve  glue,  while  the  outer  covering  is  grey  and 
made  up  of  a  vast  number  of  microscopic  cells,  or 
neurons,  varying  greatly  in  size,  shape,  and  general 
appearance.  It  is  in  this  outer  covering,  called  the 
cortex  of  the  brain,  that  the  nerves  running  to  all 
parts  of  the  body  terminate.  Here  it  is  that  intelli- 
gence resides.  Here  the  mind  makes  its  connection 
with  the  body,  and,  by  the  influence  it  exerts  upon 
these  cells,  carries  out  its  plans  and  purposes.  "It 
is  easy  to  distinguish  in  the  cortex  of  the  brain," 
says  Professor  Starr  in  his  recent  work  entitled 
Atlas  of  Nerve  Cells,  "the  four  types  of  cells — viz.  : 
Cayal  cells,  small  pyramidal  cells,  large  pyramidal 
cells,  and  polygonal  cells.  But  the  relative  number 
of  these  cells  varies  greatly  in  different  regions  of 
the  brain  and  their  arrangement  in  layers  also 
varies."  "It  is  yet  impossible,"  he  adds,  "to  as- 
sign any  separate  functions  to  the  various  kinds  of 
cells"  (p.  78). 

If  spread  out  horizontally  the  cortex  of  the  brain 
would  occupy  a  space  about  12  inches  in  length,  11 
inches  in  width,  and  i  inch  in  depth.  And  the  cells 
of  which  it  is  composed  vary  in  diameter  from  -^^ 
to  ^ijVo^  of  an  inch.     It  was  estimated  by  Meynert 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         17 

that  there  are  612  millions  of  nerve  cells  in  the  tops 
of  the  convolutions  of  the  cerebral  cortex,  and  that 
there  are  1200  millions  in  the  entire  cerebral  cortex. 
But  a  recent  issue  of  the  British  Medical  Jotirttal, 
London,  summarising  the  work  of  some  more  care- 
ful calculators,  says:  "The  present  estimate  gives 
the  astounding  result  that  there  are  over  9200  mill- 
ions of  nerve  cells  in  the  cerebral  cortex,  an  estimate 
about  eight  times  as  large  as  that  published  by  Mey- 
nert  in  1872."  It  is  probable  that  each  one  of  these 
cells  keeps  a  record  of  everything  that  happens  to 
it ;  and  also  contains  a  record  of  all  that  happened 
to  the  mother  cell  from  which  it  was  generated. 
Professor  Ladd  explains  the  fact  that  cool,  slimy 
objects  usually  give  us  an  unpleasant  sensation  as 
due  to  ancestral  experiences  recorded  in  our  brains. 
There  is  nothing  irrational  in  this  and  similar  sup- 
positions when  we  recall  the  fact  that  the  microscopic 
germ  from  which  we  are  all  developed  contained  in 
itself  all  the  organic  characteristics  of  our  ancestors, 
even  to  the  colour  of  the  hair  and  eyes,  the  shape  of 
the  nose,  and  the  curve  of  the  finger  nails. 

It  is  now  generally  conceded  that  these  cells  in 
the  cortex  of  the  brain  are  arranged  together  into 
certain  groups  called  centres,  and  that  the  mind 
uses  these  centres  in  controlling  the  body  and 
elaborating  its  thoughts.  Some  of  these  centres 
have  already  been  located  with  more  or  less  exact- 
ness. The  seeing  centre  is  in  the  occipital  lobe  in 
the  rear  of  the  brain.  The  power  of  vision  depends 
chiefly  upon  the  development  of  this  centre,  and  if 
it  is  deranged  in  any  way  the  sight  will  be  abnormal. 


i8       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

If  its  connection  with  the  optic  nerve  is  severed  no- 
thing whatever  can  be  seen  by  the  external  eye, 
however  perfect  that  organ  may  be ;  and  any  com- 
motion in  this  centre  may  result  in  a  sensation  of 
sight,  even  where  the  eye,  commonly  so  called,  is 
wanting  altogether. 

The  hearing  centre  is  in  the  temporal  lobe,  and 
we  may  hear  sounds  through  the  agitation  of  this 
centre  without  the  use  of  the  external  ear  just  as  in 
the  case  of  the  eye.  The  smell  and  taste  centres 
seem  to  be  very  closely  associated  and  are  not  far 
from  the  hearing  centre.  The  speech  centre,  or 
area,  called  Broca's  convolution,  is  in  the  left  hemi- 
sphere only  and  the  posterior  portion  of  the  frontal 
lobe.  It  is  impossible  to  speak  until  this  area  is 
duly  developed  and  its  different  parts  are  properly 
connected.  The  movements  of  the  limbs  and  face 
are  chiefly  controlled  by  the  area  about  the  fissure 
of  Rolando.  The  application  of  an  electrode  to 
these  portions  of  the  brain  may  cause  a  movement  of 
these  organs  without  any  attempt  of  the  mind  to  pro- 
duce it  or  even  in  spite  of  an  attempt  to  prevent  it. 
When  these  portions  of  the  brain  are  extirpated 
ability  to  move  the  parts  in  question  disappears. 

Much  attention  is  now  being  paid  to  what  are 
called  the  concept  centres  of  the  brain.  These  are 
centres  that  must  be  developed  before  a  person  can 
form  a  general  notion,  such  as  "dog,"  "boy," 
"man,"  or  do  any  reasoning,  strictly  so  called. 
That  these  centres  are  located  in  the  frontal  lobes 
of  the  brain  seems  now  to  be  generally  admitted. 
Bianchi,  a  great  experimenter  upon  animals,  found 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         19 

that  after  he  had  extirpated  the  frontal  lobes  of 
some  dogs  and  monkeys  their  curiosity  was  gone. 
They  remained  affectionate  and  impressionable,  but 
lost  all  power  of  concentration.  From  a  great 
variety  of  cases  he  concluded  that  "the  frontal 
lobes  are  the  seai  of  co-ordination  and  fusion  of  the 
incoming  and  outgoing  products  of  the  several  sen- 
sory and  motor  areas  of  the  cortex.  .  .  .  Removal 
of  the  frontal  lobes  does  not  so  much  interfere  with 
the  perceptions,  taken  singly,  as  it  does  disaggregate 
the  personality,  and  incapacitate  for  putting  together 
groups  of  representations." 

Ferrier  met  with  the  same  results  in  his  experi- 
ments. He  found  that  "after  removal  or  destruc- 
tion by  the  cautery  of  the  antero-frontal  lobes  the 
animals  retain  their  appetites  and  instincts,  and  are 
capable  of  exhibiting  emotional  feeling.  They 
have  lost,  however,  the  faculty  of  attentive  and  in- 
telligent observation." 

Professor  Allen  Starr  describes  his  own  recent  in- 
vestigations on  this  subject  as  follows: 

"  The  brain  of  man  differs  from  that  of  the  lower  ani- 
mals and  of  idiots  chiefly  in  the  greater  development  of 
the  frontal  lobes.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  the 
processes  involved  in  judgment  and  reason  have  as  their 
physiological  basis  the  frontal  lobes.  If  so,  the  total  de- 
struction of  these  lobes  would  reduce  man  to  the  grade 
of  an  idiot.  Their  partial  destruction  would  be  mani- 
fested by  error  of  judgment  and  reason  of  a  striking  char- 
acter. One  of  the  first  manifestations  would  be  a  lack  of 
that  self-control  which  is  the  constant  accompaniment  of 
mental  action,  and  which  would  be  shown  by  an  inability 


20      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

to  fix  the  attention,  to  follow  a  continuous  train  of 
thought,  or  to  conduct  intellectual  processes.  It  is  this 
very  symptom  which  was  present  in  one  half  of  the  cases 
here  cited.  It  occurred  in  all  forms  of  lesion ;  from  in- 
jury by  foreign  bodies,  from  destruction  by  abscess,  from 
compression  and  softening  due  to  the  presence  of  tumours, 
and  therefore  cannot  be  ascribed  to  any  one  form  of  dis- 
ease. It  did  not  occur  in  lesions  of  other  parts  of  the 
brain  here  cited." 

Many  other  independent  and  unprejudiced  in- 
vestigators, such  as  Richet,  Grassel,  Hitzig,  and 
Golz,  have  come  to  the  same  conclusion,  thus  con- 
firming the  popular  notion  and  the  view  of  the  an- 
cient Greeks,  that  high,  broad,  and  prominent  frontal 
lobes  indicate  intellectual  power.  Post-mortem  ex- 
amination shows  that  idiocy  is  generally  due  to 
special  defects  in  these  lobes  of  the  brain  and  that 
senile  dementia  and  general  paralysis  are  to  be 
traced  to  their  atrophy. 

What  happens  when  these  centres  for  any  reason 
cease  to  perform  their  appropriate  functions  is  well 
expressed  by  Professor  Barker  of  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  a  well-known  expert  on  pathology,  in 
these  words : 

"When  the  intellectual  centres  are  paralysed,  there 
often  results  most  remarkable  disorganisation  of  the  men- 
tal processes,  and  most  serious  alterations  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  individual.  The  struggle  between  the  lower 
instincts  and  the  ethical  feelings  may  cease,  and,  instead 
of  a  rational  man,  we  see  a  creature  given  over  entirely 
to  the  satisfaction  of  his  lower  desires." 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         21 

The  importance  of  a  free  circulation  of  blood 
through  the  brain  in  order  that  it  may  properly 
perform  its  functions  should  here  be  noticed.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  while  the  weight  of  the 
brain  is  about  one  forty-fifth  of  the  body,  the 
amount  of  blood  it  requires  is  about  one  eighth  or 
one  ninth  of  the  entire  supply  of  the  body.  Im- 
purities in  the  blood,  introduced  by  drugs  or  other- 
wise, may  very  quickly  and  disastrously  affect  the 
whole  mental  life.  On  the  other  hand,  a  moderate 
stimulation  of  the  circulation  may  greatly  quicken 
the  train  of  thought. 

It  is  also  well  established  that  any  change  in  the 
psychical  states  is  closely  connected  with  the  rise 
and  fall  of  temperature  in  the  substance  of  the 
brain.  Not  only  does  the  receiving  of  sensory  im- 
pressions produce  a  rise  of  temperature  in  the  hemi- 
spheres, but  any  psychical  activity  develops  some 
degree  of  heat  in  addition.  Strong  impressions  are 
usually  accompanied  by  alternations  in  the  rise  and 
fall  of  the  temperature.  These  alternations  take 
place  over  the  entire  area  of  the  hemispheres,  but  in 
the  different  local  areas  they  vary  in  speed  and 
amount  of  increase,  being  most  noticeable  in  the 
occipital  area.  The  variations  in  temperature  are 
greater  and  more  rapid  when  the  emotions  are  active 
than  when  the  brain  is  performing  some  purely  in- 
tellectual work. 

That  these  changes  in  the  temperature  are  not 
due  merely  to  changes  in  the  arterial  circulation  is 
seen  in  the  fact  that  they  do  not  correspond  to 
changes  in  the  respiration,  but  are  quite  independent 


22      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

of  them.  They  are  accounted  for  only  on  the  as- 
sumption that  psychical  activity  uses  up  nerve  tis- 
sue, and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  a  waste  of 
brain  substance  accompanies  all  mental  work.  Let 
the  quantity  of  sulphates  and  phosphates  that  enters 
into  the  diet  be  carefully  estimated  and  it  will  always 
be  found  that  the  quantity  excreted  when  any  men- 
tal work  has  been  performed  will  be  noticeably  in- 
creased. The  constituent  elements  of  the  brain  must 
have  been  disorganised  to  make  up  for  the  difference. 
If  the  human  brain  is  such  a  marvellously  com- 
plex organ  as  its  anatomy  teaches — the  most  com- 
plex that  has  ever  been  constructed  or  can  be 
thought — and  if  it  can  be  accepted  as  an  established 
fact  that  there  is  no  known  mental  action  that  is 
not  accompanied  by  brain  action,  the  question  nat- 
urally arises  can  we  do  anything  to  unfold  the  latent 
resources  of  the  brain,  or  to  control  its  activities 
after  they  are  once  developed.  And  we  answer  un- 
hesitatingly, much  every  way.  If  we  can  give  skill 
to  the  hand  or  increased  accuracy  to  the  eye  much 
more  can  we  develop  and  train  the  powers  of  the 
brain,  provided  we  begin  at  the  proper  time  and 
proceed  in  a  rational  manner.  It  may  be  laid  down 
as  a  general  truth  that,  as  with  all  the  other  organs 
of  the  body,  the  size  and  efficiency  of  the  various 
centres  of  the  brain  vary  with  their  use.  Dr. 
Jacobi,  of  New  York,  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Psychology  (November,  1888),  correctly  argues  that 
the  early  studies  of  a  child  should  be  chiefly  selected 
from  the  effect  they  will  have  upon  the  development 
of  the  brain. 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         23 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  a  child  should  first 
have  its  motor  and  sensory  centres  well  developed 
before  attempting  much  with  its  concept  centres. 
In  other  words,  it  should  first  acquire  an  accurate 
use  of  the  large  muscles  of  the  hand,  the  eye,  and 
the  other  sense  organs  before  it  should  be  taught 
to  sew,  or  read,  or  write.  Its  early  years  should  be 
chiefly  spent  in  gaining  a  knowledge  of  external 
facts  through  observation,  listening  to  the  living 
teacher,  and  not  through  books.  Later,  when  the 
concept  centres  are  developing,  it  can  best  begin  to 
reason  about  those  facts.  Then  Latin  can  well  be 
taken  up.  For  it  is  the  most  logically  constructed 
of  all  the  languages  and  will  help  more  effectually 
than  any  other  study  to  strengthen  the  brain  centres 
that  must  be  used  where  any  reasoning  is  required. 

If  the  brain  centres  are  not  developed  early  in  life 
they  never  will  be.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  it  is  so 
difficult  for  persons  of  middle  age  to  acquire  the 
easy  use  of  a  foreign  language.  The  language  cen- 
tres, as  a  rule,  early  take  on  their  permanent  char- 
acter or  become  atrophied  to  such  a  degree  as  to  be 
beyond  all  possible  recuperation.  It  has  often  been 
shown  that  it  is  physically  impossible  for  a  person  c 
to  take  a  course  of  study  at  thirty  that  could  have 
been  mastered  easily  at  seventeen.        H-^v^'^be^^  "^Wf^'s 

Here  we  may  well  note  the  power  of  habit.  All 
habits  are,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  matters  of  the  brain. 
They  may  properly  be  regarded  as  the  ways  in 
which  the  brain  cells  have  come  to  act  under  a  given 
stimulus.  At  the  outset  we  have  much  to  do  in  de- 
termining these  ways,  but  when  they  are  once  estab- 


24      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

lished  it  is  hard  to  change  them,  and  in  many  cases 
practically  impossible.  All  habits  when  once  firmly 
established  may  as  truly  be  said  to  have  us  as  we  to 
have  them.  There  is  a  profound  truth  in  the  saying 
that  every  man  is  a  bundle  of  habits.  It  is  to  this 
physical  basis  of  habit  that  Professor  Ladd  reverts 
in  attempting  to  explain  why  it  is  that  most  adults 
are  so  averse  to  a  new  idea.  It  is  maintained  by 
some  that  nobody  really  admits  a  new  idea  into  his 
head  after  his  twenty-fifth  year.  The  truth  in  this 
opinion  is  that  our  brain  cells  get  to  work  in  pretty 
definite  ruts  by  that  period,  and  it  can  then  be 
determined  with  considerable  accuracy  what  limit- 
ations they  are  going  to  impose  upon  our  future 
development. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  an 
instrument  that  is  so  susceptible  in  its  early  devel- 
opment to  outside  influences  as  the  human  brain. 
There  are  probably  innumerable  impressions  being 
made  upon  our  brain  cells  every  day  to  which,  at 
the  time,  we  pay  little  or  no  attention,  though 
favourable  circumstances  may  later  bring  them  out 
into  full  consciousness.  If  we  have  any  control  at 
all  over  our  environment  we  have  a  corresponding 
control  over  the  kind  of  impressions  we  are  con- 
stantly recording  in  our  brain  cells  as  the  material 
for  future  thought. 

No  organ  in  the  body  is  so  susceptible  to  disease 
or  misuse  as  the  brain.  Every  excess  of  every  sort 
injures  it  and  every  vice  records  itself  upon  the  brain 
more  indelibly  by  far  than  upon  the  face  or  upon 
the  abused  organ.     It  has  already  been  pointed  out 


The  Brain  and  Intelligence         25 

that  imbecility  is  not  so  often  due  to  lack  of  brain 
substance  as  to  a  diseased  condition  of  the  brain. 
Dr.  Maudsley,  in  his  work  entitled  Body  and  Mind 
(p.  44),  goes  so  far  as  to  say:  "Idiocy  is,  indeed,  a 
manufactured  article  ;  and  though  we  are  not  always 
able  to  tell  how  it  is  manufactured,  still  its  important 
causes  are  known  and  are  within  control."  Many 
cases  are  distinctly  traceable  to  parental  intemper- 
ance and  excess.  Out  of  3CK)  idiots  in  Massachu- 
setts, Dr.  Howe  found  as  many  as  145  to  be  the 
offspring  of  intemperate  parents;  and  there  are 
numerous  scattered  observations  which  prove  that 
chronic  alcoholism  in  the  parent  may  directly  occa- 
sion idiocy  in  the  child.  Insanity  is  also  due  to  a 
diseased  condition  of  the  cells  of  the  brain.  A  crazy 
person  is  literally  out  of  his  head,  out  of  the  proper 
use  and  control  of  his  brain  and  thus  of  his  body. 
It  is  estimated  that  over  half  the  insanity  of  the 
world  is  due  to  intemperance  and  licentiousness. 
The  rest  of  it  is  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  traceable  to 
excesses  of  some  sort.  Any  person  may  easily  make 
himself  insane  by  constantly  losing  his  self-control 
or  continuously  pampering  a  vicious  habit.  To  be 
drunk  and  to  be  crazy  are  one  and  the  same  thing. 
The  brain  cells  are  paralysed  or  stimulated  beyond 
control.  An  intoxicated  person  is  no  more  respons- 
ible for  his  actions  than  a  runaway  locomotive.  It 
is  possible,  however,  for  a  person  who  inherits  a 
tendency  to  insanity  to  do  much  if  he  begins  in  time 
to  check  it  or  ward  it  off  altogther.  He  must  keep 
himself  strenuously  in  such  physical  and  social  sur- 
roundings as  will  develop  and  solidify  a  normal  and 


26      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

healthy    brain.      Everything   that    is   degrading   or 
vicious  in  word  or  deed  he  must  absolutely  abjure. 

We  have  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  rule  is 
universal  that  perverted  thoughts  and  choices  inevit- 
ably lead  to  a  perverted  brain  and  that  right  thoughts 
and  choices  tend  to  establish  and  maintain  a  well- 
ordered  brain. 


CHAPTER   II 

ATTENTION  AS  THE  BASIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE 

DARWIN,  in  his  Descent  of  Man,  when  treating 
of  the  mental  powers  of  monkeys,  incident- 
ally remarks  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  make  any- 
thing out  of  a  young  monkey  if  his  attention  can 
easily  be  diverted.  He  might  have  added  that  the 
same  thing  is  true  of  human  beings.  For  the  power 
to  pay  attention  is  the  primary  condition  of  all  men- 
tal development,  brute  or  human.  The  lack  of  this 
power  is  the  sure  sign  of  general  paralysis  or  hope- 
less idiocy. 

The  failure  to  recognise  the  universal  presence  of 
attention  in  all  forms  of  mental  life  is  the  fatal  de- 
fect in  the  psychology  of  the  associational  school  of 
writers  from  John  Locke  to  Herbert  Spencer.  They 
leave  out  of  consideration  the  most  important  of  all 
the  facts.  For  no  amount  of  increase  in  the  power 
to  receive  impressions  from  without  will  account 
for  mental  progress.  It  is  precisely  this  active,  all- 
pervasive  energy  of  attention  that  makes  any  sort 
of  development  possible.  The  ignoring  of  it  cannot 
be  condoned  or  overlooked.  For  the  very  founda- 
tions of  a  scientific  treatment  of  mental  phenomena 
are  undermined  by  so  doing. 

27 


28      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

How  fundamental  attention  is  to  our  mental  life 
is  seen  when  we  compare  it  with  consciousness 
itself.  Consciousness,  according  to  our  view,  is  not 
one  of  the  faculties  or  powers  of  the  mind  for  appre- 
hending facts,  but  the  sole  condition  of  all  our  men- 
tal states.  It  distinguishes  mind  from  not  mind; 
where  it  is  present  in  some  degree  there  is  mind. 
Its  manifestation  is  probably  not  dependent  upon 
any  special  physical  basis,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
individual  senses,  but  upon  the  sound  and  healthy 
condition  of  the  sensorium  as  a  whole.  There  is 
nothing  else  in  the  world  like  consciousness  and 
therefore  it  cannot  be  defined.  It  is  known  only  by 
being  experienced,  but  it  must  be  experienced  be- 
fore one  can  talk  about  such  mental  states  as  sensa- 
tions, imaginings,  thoughts,  choices,  and  the  like. 

A  clear  distinction  is  to  be  made,  however,between 
letting  a  mental  state  float  along,  as  it  were,  in  con- 
sciousness, and  seizing  hold  of  some  one  of  its  aspects 
for  more  definite  consideration.  This  latter  act  is 
an  act  of  attention.  It  is  the  mind  detaining  some- 
thing in  the  stream  of  consciousness  in  order  to 
examine  it  a  little  and  see  what  use  can  be  made  of 
it.  A  mind  that  cannot  do  this  may  exist  perhaps, 
but  cannot  progress.  Simply  being  conscious  of  our 
mental  states  requires  no  perceptible  expenditure  of 
mental  energy,  but  attention  involves  the  definite 
outlay  of  force  which  must  be  constantly  exerted  if 
any  mental  development  is  to  be  acquired.  At- 
tention actually  accompanies  in  some  degree  every 
mental  process.  As  Ladd  remarks :  "What  is  ordin- 
arily called  inattention  is  not  the  negating  of  all 


Attention  and  Mental  Life  29 

attention ;  it  is  rather  diminished  intensity  of  at. 
tention,  or  attention  directed  to  other  objects  than 
those  which  seem  proper  under  the  circumstances." 
When  I  do  not  attend  to  the  loud  knock  on  my 
study  door  it  is  usually  due  to  the  fact  that  I  am 
absorbed  in  reading  a  new  book  that  has  just  come 
to  me,  or  am  preoccupied  with  a  game  I  happen  to 
be  playing  with  one  of  the  children,  or  because  I  am 
busy  with  the  system  of  some  old  Greek  philosopher 
whose  exact  place  in  the  history  of  thought  I  am 
trying  to  locate. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  attention  is  identical  with  the 
power  of  concentration,  and  it  is  impossible  for  us 
to  imagine  a  mind  making  any  progress  in  intelli- 
gence without  this  power  in  some  degree.  Atten- 
tion is  the  active  side  of  consciousness,  and  the  loss 
of  attention  would  involve  the  loss  of  personal  unity. 
For  it  is  upon  the  continued  consciousness  of  this 
power  that  the  knowledge  of  ourselves  as  persons  is 
based.  Attention  naturally  divides  itself  into  two 
kinds,  forced  and  voluntary.  A  brilliant  flash  of 
lightning,  a  violent  pain  in  the  tooth,  the  shriek  of  a 
locomotive  whistle,  an  intensely  disagreeable  odour, 
will  attract  the  attention,  even  though  we  have  willed 
not  to  be  disturbed  by  them.  They  are  all  cases  of 
forced  or  reflex  attention.  For  the  object  controls 
our  attention  and  turns  us  about  whithersoever  it 
pleases  rather  than  we  ourselves.  This  is  the  normal 
condition  of  very  young  children  and  of  all  adults 
whose  wills  have  not  developed  with  their  years. 
Shortly  after  birth  a  child  will  pay  attention  to  a  very 
bright  light,  or  a  very  loud  noise,  but  several  weeks 


so      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

will  pass  before  it  shows  the  first  signs  of  any  ability 
to  direct  its  own  powers,  and  even  after  two  or  three 
years  it  will  still  be  difficult  for  the  child  to  turn 
its  mental  energy  in  any  efficient  way  to  anything 
else  than  the  objects  of  its  immediate  environment. 
Those  persons,  young  or  old,  who  have  little  power 
of  concentration  are  said  to  be  easily  distracted. 
That  is,  their  attention  is  drawn  hither  and  thither 
by  every  new  external  excitation  with  such  rapidity 
that  it  falls  to  pieces  in  its  endeavours  to  cleave  con- 
tinuously to  any  definite  plan  or  purpose. 

Here  also  we  need  to  consider  what  are  called 
fixed  ideas.  These  arise  when  attention  is  so  wedded 
to  a  single  thought  that  all  others  that  are  not  in 
complete  accord  with  it  are  banished  from  conscious- 
ness :  when  an  idea  has  once  become  fixed  it  forces 
all  other  ideas  into  association  with  itself.  And  if 
this  state  of  affairs  cannot  be  broken  up  by  a  change 
of  scene,  new  surroundings,  or  new  companionships, 
it  gives  a  morbid  tone  to  the  whole  life.  This  is  the 
characteristic  condition  of  every  monomaniac.  He 
is  a  monomaniac  for  this  reason.  It  is  also  the 
condition  of  the  hypnotic  subject.  He  has  lost  all 
independent  control  of  his  physical  or  mental  powers, 
and  any  suggestion  from  his  hypnotiser  becomes  his 
dominant  idea,  everything  is  determined  by  it,  and 
all  his  energy  is  devoted  to  putting  it  into  realisa- 
tion. His  own  will  in  the  matter  is  entirely  elimin- 
ated. He  no  longer  tries  to  give  direction  to  the 
current  of  his  thought,  but  his  attention  having 
been  fixed  by  another  upon  a  certain  idea,  his  whole 
intellectual  activity  is  absorbed  in  it,  and  nothing 


Attention  and  Mental  Life  31 

else  in  his  experience  except  that  which  accords  with 
this  idea  is  allowed  to  influence  his  conduct.  Only 
a  new  idea  from  his  operator  will  change  the  object 
of  his  attention  and  thus  the  course  of  his  thought. 
Quite  in  contrast  with  this  is  voluntary  attention. 
Here  comes  into  consciousness  a  distinctly  new  ele- 
ment. For  the  first  time  in  one's  experience  the 
power  to  direct  the  current  of  one's  mental  activities 
shows  itself.  Here  is  the  first  sign  of  the  possession 
of  a  free  will.  What  is  ordinarily  called  abstraction 
or  absent-mindedness  is  not  a  lack  of  voluntary  at- 
tention, but  such  a  concentration  of  it  upon  a  certain 
line  of  thought  as  to  make  one  oblivious  to  other 
matters.  All  the  mental  energy  is  directed  into  one 
channel  and  none  is  left  to  give  to  the  sights  and 
sounds  that  would  otherwise  attract  attention.  In 
most  instances  fixed  or  insistent  ideas,  as  they  are 
called,  are  the  result  of  an  overuse  of  voluntary  at- 
tention. They  come  from  brooding  over  them  to 
such  an  extent  that  attention  to  them  ceases  to  be 
voluntary.  The  power  to  withdraw  the  mind  from 
absorption  in  them  is  lost,  that  is,  voluntary  atten- 
tion has  given  way  to  attention  that  is  fixed  or 
forced.  The  power  voluntarily  to  concentrate  one's 
attention  upon  a  given  object  or  purpose  is  the  be- 
ginning of  all  self-control  and  self-development.  In 
fact,  it  is  the  power  by  which  we  first  became  aware 
of  ourselves  as  real  agents.  Otherwise  we  would 
not  be  in  a  condition  to  know  ourselves  as  the  doer 
of  our  own  deeds,  or  in  any  way  capable  of  determ- 
ining their  character.  It  is  this  power  of  voluntary 
attention  that  Wundt  calls  apperception,  and  what 


32       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

he  is  describing  when  he  says :  "Apperception  is  the 
one  original  act  of  will.  It  can  exist  without  the 
consequences  which  follow  upon  other  acts  of  will, 
whereas  these  always  presuppose  as  their  condition 
some  internal  act." 

To  what  extent  attention  affects  our  mental  life 
can  best  be  shown  by  pointing  out  its  connection 
with  some  of  our  primary  mental  operations,  and 
first  of  all  its  relation  to  sensation.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  attention  directed  to  a  sensation 
increases  its  intensity.  It  is  also  true  that  attention 
diverted  from  a  sensation  diminishes  its  intensity. 
Slight  bruises  and  burns  may  become  putrid  sores 
by  riveting  the  attention  upon  them,  and  excruciat- 
ing pains  may  be  dispelled  by  diverting  the  attention 
from  them.  Everybody  knows  that  hot  cloths  re- 
lieve headache  by  compelling  us  to  attend  to  a 
counter-irritation.  The  sole  object  of  many  medi- 
cines is  to  help  the  patient  fix  his  attention  upon 
some  other  portion  of  the  body  than  the  one  affected 
and  thus  give  the  diseased  part  time  to  recuperate. 
The  sufferer  in  a  dentist's  chair  often  finds  the 
obnoxious  tooth  extracted  before  he  is  aware  of  it, 
the  pain  of  the  operation  passing  unnoticed  because 
of  the  flutter  of  excitement  attending  it.  Soldiers 
are  not  infrequently  "riddled"  with  bullets  without 
knowing  it  until  the  excitement  of  the  battle  is  over 
or  a  bullet  touches  a  vital  spot.  A  similar  experi- 
ence is  not  uncommon  with  football  players  and 
persons  engaged  in  other  exciting  sports.  Paralysis 
has  been  cured,  or  at  least  driven  to  other  parts  of 
the  body,  by  letting  the  attention  become  absorbed 


Attention  and  Mental  Life         33 

in  other  affairs  of  a  wholly  different  character.  This 
has  been  found  to  be  in  many  cases  the  best  method 
of  treating  insomnia,  dyspepsia,  and  other  similar 
troubles.  In  nearly  all  nervous  diseases  attention 
plays  a  most  important  part.  The  wonders  of 
hypnotism  are  almost  wholly  due  to  it.  Professor 
Krafft-Ebing,  of  Vienna,  tells  us  of  a  young 
woman  whom  he  hypnotised  and  caused  to  fix  her 
attention  so  completely  upon  a  pair  of  scissors,  or 
piece  of  glass,  or  any  similar  object  placed  against 
her  skin  as  to  produce  a  fully  developed  scar  in  the 
form  of  the  applied  object.  He  could  also  take 
away  the  scar  by  a  similar  process. 

The  time  occupied  by  a  sensation  as  well  as  the 
intensity  is  greatly  affected  by  attention.  Unless 
the  impression  on  the  sense  organ  is  continued  a 
certain  length  of  time  there  will  be  no  sensation  at 
all.  A  lighted  stick  can  easily  be  whirled  around  so 
rapidly  as  to  appear  like  a  circle  of  fire.  Disks  of 
several  different  forms  and  colours  may  be  made  to 
revolve  so  as  to  look  like  one  white  object,  round 
and  stationary.  Writing  on  slates  and  many  similar 
feats  may  be  performed  in  our  very  presence  so 
quickly  as  to  be  entirely  beyond  our  notice.  We 
generally  wink  our  eyes  so  quickly  as  to  make  no 
change  in  the  continuance  of  the  sensation  we  are 
experiencing  at  the  time  the  winking  occurs.  The 
explanation  in  all  these  cases  is  the  fact  that  sufH- 
cient  time  is  not  given  for  the  separate  impressions 
to  result  in  a  sensation.  The  only  sensation  is  that 
attending  the  impressions  as  a  whole. 

In  all  accurate  scientific  observations,  especially  in 

3 


34      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

astronomy  and  similar  studies,  much  must  be  made 
of  the  fact  that  time  is  necessary  for  an  impression 
to  result  in  a  sensation.  This  time  greatly  varies 
for  different  individuals  and  different  conditions  of 
the  same  individuals.  But  what  especially  concerns 
us  here  is  the  fact  that  this  time  can  be  greatly  re- 
duced by  careful  attention.  Let  the  expectation  of 
an  impression  be  increased  and  the  time  will  be 
diminished.  Professor  Baldwin,  of  Princeton,  after 
considerable  practice  and  about  four  hundred  ex- 
periments upon  himself,  reduced  what  is  called  his 
simple  reaction  time  to  one  eighth  of  a  second. 
Allowing  one  half  of  the  entire  reaction  time  for  the 
physiological  part  of  the  process,  attention  would 
lessen  the  time  required  for  the  psychical  part  of  a 
sensation  to  about  one  fifteenth  of  a  second. 

Perception  is  also  greatly  affected  by  attention. 
What  we  perceive  often  depends  upon  what  we 
expect  to  perceive.  Dr.  Tuke,  in  illustrating  the 
power  of  a  dominant  idea,  gives  us  the  following 
incident : 

"  During  the  conflagration  at  the  Crystal  Palace  in  the 
winter  of  1866-7,  when  the  animals  were  destroyed  by 
fire,  it  was  supposed  that  the  chimpanzee  had  succeeded 
in  escaping  from  his  cage.  Attracted  to  the  roof,  with 
this  expectation  in  full  force,  men  saw  the  unhappy  ani- 
mal holding  on  to  it  and  writhing  in  agony  to  get  astride 
one  of  the  iron  ribs.  It  need  not  be  said  that  its  strug- 
gles were  watched  by  those  below  with  breathless  sus- 
pense, and,  as  the  newspapers  informed  us,  'with  sickening 
dread.'  But  there  was  no  animal  whatever  there;  and 
all  this  feeling  was  thrown  away  upon  a  tattered  piece  of 


Attention  and  Mental  Life  35 

blind,  so  torn  as  to  resemble  to  the  eye  of  fancy  the 
body,  arms,  and  legs  of  an  ape." 

When  Baron  Reichenbach  was  performing  so  many 
wonders  by  means  of  so-called  odyllic  force,  Dr. 
Braid  found  that  he  could  make  his  patients  experi- 
ence the  same  things  by  means  of  expectant  atten- 
tion alone.  By  putting  them  in  a  dark  room  and 
telling  them  that  there  was  a  magnet  in  a  certain 
corner,  they  would  see  flames  of  fire  issuing  from  it, 
even  though  there  was  no  magnet  there  at  all.  That 
D.  D.  Home,  the  famous  medium,  floated  out  of  one 
window  and  in  at  another  is  proved  by  two  reliable 
witnesses,  though  another  witness  who  was  present 
saw  nothing  of  the  kind.  Ventriloquists  and  con- 
jurors deceive  us  by  playing  upon  our  power  of 
attention  quite  as  much  as  by  their  dexterity. 

While  it  is  quite  possible  for  persons  far  above  the 
average  in  their  general  abilities  to  be  so  carried 
away  by  some  dominant  idea,  that  is,  by  expectant 
attention,  as  to  have  their  testimony  regarding  what 
they  have  witnessed  utterly  untrustworthy,  it  is  still 
quite  impossible  to  perceive  with  accuracy  without 
attention  playing  a  most  important  part.  What 
Lewes  calls  preperception  is  often  a  very  large  part 
of  the  perception  itself.  The  anticipatory  looking 
for  the  things  helps  us  to  see  it  when  it  comes  and 
keeps  us  from  missing  it  altogether,  even  though  we 
stand  before  it  face  to  face.  Most  men  have  no 
eyes  except  for  what  they  have  been  taught  to  see. 
As  James  expresses  it:  "Any  one  of  us  can  notice 
a  phenomenon  after  it  has  once  been  pointed  out, 


36       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

which  not  one  in  ten  thousand  could  ever  have  dis- 
covered for  himself.  Even  in  poetry  and  the  arts, 
some  one  has  to  come  and  tell  us  what  aspects  to 
single  out,  and  what  effects  to  admire,  before  our 
aesthetic  nature  can  'dilate'  to  its  full  extent  and 
never  with  the  wrong  emotion."  And  he  adds: 
"The  only  things  which  we  commonly  see  are  those 
which  we  preperceive, " 

No  one  more  fully  recognised  the  fact  that  accur- 
ate perception  is  chiefly  dependent  upon  attention 
than  Agassiz.  When  a  new  student  presented  him- 
self at  his  laboratory  one  morning  he  immediately 
pulled  a  fish  out  of  a  jar  of  alcohol  and  said  to  him : 
"You  are  to  look  at  this  fish  carefully  and  tell  me 
when  I  return  how  much  you  have  seen.  You  must 
not  cut  it  nor  use  any  instrument  upon  it."  In 
about  ten  minutes  the  student  thought  he  was  ready 
to  report,  but  the  professor  would  not  listen  to  him 
until  he  had  observed  it  for  several  hours.  When 
he  did  report  he  only  said  to  him:  "You  have  not 
looked  very  carefully;  keep  on  looking."  He  kept 
the  student  observing  the  fish  and  making  drawings 
of  it  for  three  days.  Years  after  the  student  said : 
"This  was  the  best  zoological  lesson  I  ever  had, — a 
lesson  whose  influence  has  extended  to  the  details 
of  every  subsequent  study." 

Just  as  the  time  required  for  a  sensation  is  greatly 
affected  by  attention,  so  it  is  with  a  perception. 
Experiment  shows  that  the  time  needed  for  a  per- 
ception can  be  reduced  by  concentrating  the  at- 
tention upon  the  thing  to  be  perceived.  A  good 
practical  example  of  how  much  attention  can  develop 


Attention  and  Mental  Life  37 

quickness  of  perception  is  given  in  the  well-known 
case  of  the  celebrated  conjuror  Robert  Houdin. 
He  and  his  son  were  famous  for  a  trick  which  they 
called  second  sight.  They  trained  themselves  by 
practising  at  first  upon  dominoes  to  tell  at  a  glance 
without  counting  the  sum  of  the  points  on  as  many 
as  twelve  at  a  time.  They  then  drilled  themselves 
in  passing  quickly  through  furnished  rooms  and  in 
front  of  show  windows  and  noting  the  articles  that 
came  within  their  range  of  vision.  They  once  gave 
an  entertainment  in  a  private  house  in  Paris  that 
they  had  never  before  visited  and  astonished  the 
entire  company  by  telling  with  accuracy  the  posi- 
tion of  the  objects  in  an  adjoining  room,  even  to  the 
books  in  the  bookcases  and  their  titles.  They  after- 
wards acknowledged  that  they  had  passed  quickly 
through  the  room  while  the  guests  were  assembling. 
We  come  next  to  note  the  effect  of  attention 
upon  memory.  It  has  long  been  a  fundamental  dic- 
tum in  psychology  that  memory  is  in  proportion  to 
attention.  Little  attention  implies  a  weak  memory 
and  much  attention  a  strong  memory.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  the  capacity  to  retain  mental  pictures 
depends  upon  the  intensity  of  the  original  presenta- 
tion and  the  clearness  of  its  relations ;  and  both  in- 
tensity and  clearness  are  vitally  affected  by  attention. 
Almost  everybody  has  a  good  memory  for  some  one 
set  of  facts.  A  merchant  has  little  difficulty  in  re- 
membering the  price  of  his  goods.  A  broker  easily 
recalls  the  ups  and  downs  of  at  least  his  own  partic- 
ular stocks.  What  college  boy  interested  in  athletics, 
however  dull  he  may  be  in  his  regular  studies,  has 


38      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

any  difficulty  in  rattling  off  all  sorts  of  sporting 
statistics  for  years  back?  Great  scholars  and  philo- 
sophers, though  often  deficient  in  remembering 
ordinary  events,  easily  treasure  up  a  great  mass  of 
facts  bearing  on  their  own  lines  of  study.  The  ex- 
planation in  all  these  cases  is  that  they  remember 
what  they  attend  to,  and  they  attend  to  whatever 
fits  in  with  their  particular  spheres  of  thought.  The 
new  facts  admitted  into  their  system  are  retained 
by  the  combined  suggestive  power  of  all  the  other 
similar  facts  already  there.  The  facts  that  do  not 
fit  into  their  theory  or  general  view  of  things,  they 
pay  little  attention  to  and  easily  forget.  Thus  it  is 
possible  and  not  uncommon  for  a  person  to  become 
a  walking  encyclopedia  regarding  one  set  of  facts 
and  an  ignoramus  concerning  another,  both  coming 
alike  within  the  sphere  of  his  possible  experience. 
Almost  everybody  knows  to  his  sorrow  that  what 
is  acquired  during  a  few  hours  of  intense  application 
to  be  immediately  reeled  off  in  a  final  ordeal,  as  in 
'j  cramming  for  an  examination,  cannot  be  a  perman- 
ent possession.  The  trouble  is  that  sufficient  time 
is  not  given  for  the  formation  of  clear  and  lasting 
associations.  The  brain  processes  in  the  operation 
are  too  rapid  and  superficial  to  allow  of  numerous  or 
strong  attachments  to  be  made  with  other  brain  pro- 
cesses; whereas,  if  the  same  material  were  acquired 
gradually,  considered  in  various  relations,  and  re- 
peatedly reflected  upon,  speedy  oblivion  would  not 
be  its  inevitable  fate. 

In  a  general  way  it  may  be  said  that  one's  power 
of   retention    is    fixed    by    his    physical    organism. 


Attention  and  Mental  Life  39 

Within  certain  limits,  due  to  changes  in  the  health, 
age,  and  the  like,  it  cannot  be  increased  or  dimin- 
ished. It  is  chiefly  the  direction  of  this  power  and 
not  its  quantity  that  is  subject  in  some  degree  to 
our  control.  Hence  the  improvement  of  the  mem- 
ory depends  upon  the  number  and  tenacity  of  the 
relations  established  between  the  things  to  be  remem- 
bered. Attention  must  be  devoted  to  the  elaboration 
of  these  relations  if  we  wish  to  have  a  good  memory. 
The  only  way  in  which  one  can  strengthen  his  mem- 
ory is  by  devising  better  schemes  for  holding  the  at- 
tention, which  is  the  same  as  saying  that  improved 
remembering  implies  improved  thinking. 

And  this  leads  us  to  a  more  definite  considera- 
tion of  the  relation  of  attention  to  thought.  By 
thought  we  here  mean  the  putting  together  of  what 
we  have  perceived  and  remembered  into  general 
notions  or  ideas  and  reasoning  about  those  ideas. 
After  all,  what  we  have  gathered  up  in  the  past  will 
be  of  little  value  to  us  unless  it  can  be  treated  in  this 
manner.  The  world's  great  men  have  been  those 
who  have  possessed  great  powers  of  continuous 
thought.  They  could  so  concentrate  their  mental 
energy,  that  is,  so  fix  their  attention  upon  the  rela- 
tion of  things,  that  they  could  discover  the  general 
in  the  great  mass  of  particulars  and  point  out  its 
bearings  upon  other  fields  of  knowledge. 

It  is  said  of  Archimedes,  the  discoverer  of  the  law 
of  the  lever,  that  he  had  so  riveted  his  attention 
upon  the  course  of  reasoning  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged that  he  did  not  know  that  Syracuse  was  being 
stormed  until  he  received  his  own  death  wound,  and 


40      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

that  his  only  exclamation  to  the  Roman  soldiers  as 
they  forced  their  way  into  his  apartments  was: 
"Don't  disturb  my  meditations."  Sir  Isaac  New- 
ton often  forgot  his  dinner  when  absorbed  in  his 
calculations,  and  he  sometimes  sat  all  night  on  the 
edge  of  his  bed  wrapt  in  thought,  even  after  he  had 
undressed  himself.  Sir  William  Hamilton  tells  of 
an  eminent  thinker  who  had  to  be  fed  by  his  attend- 
ant during  his  periods  of  profound  meditation.  These 
cases  give  emphasis  to  the  saying  of  Melancthon 
that  "the  attention  of  the  intellect  is  a  natural 
prayer  by  which  we  obtain  the  enlightenment  of  the 
reason." 

Here  we  should  note  the  effect  of  attention  upon 
the  time  required  to  form  a  judgment  and  hence  for 
drawing  a  conclusion  from  the  judgments  formed. 
Careful  experiment  shows  us  not  only  that  the  time 
for  experiencing  a  sensation  and  the  time  for  repro- 
ducing it  by  memory  can  be  greatly  lessened  by  in- 
creasing the  attention,  but  that  the  same  thing  is 
true  regarding  judgments.  The  average  of  a  great 
number  of  experiments  reduces  the  time  to  about 
one  second,  though  the  time  is  a  little  longer  if  the 
subject  of  the  judgment  is  abstract  and  a  little 
shorter  if  the  subject  is  concrete.  This  shows  that 
a  child  should  first  be  taught  to  fix  its  attention 
easily  upon  the  formation  of  concrete  judgments  and 
processes  long  before  attempting  the  abstract. 

That  the  feelings  as  well  as  the  intellectual  powers 
are  greatly  affected  by  attention  is  a  commonly  ob- 
served fact.  All  pleasures  and  pains  are  greatly 
heightened  by  being  attended  to  and  lessened  when 


Attention  and  Mental  Life         41 

the  attention  is  withdrawn.  Almost  any  one  can 
"work  himself  up"  to  a  frenzy  of  passion  over  what 
in  itself  is  a  very  insignificant  matter  if  he  concen- 
trates his  attention  exclusively  upon  it.  Our  joys 
and  our  sorrows,  our  hopes  and  our  fears  are  in  this 
way  largely  what  we  make  them.  They  can  be  in- 
creased or  diminished  almost  at  our  option. 

The  feeling  of  interest  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  so 
much  of  our  mental  life  is  especially  related  to  at- 
tention. Some  psychologists  make  the  two  almost 
identical.  It  certainly  must  be  admitted  that  what 
interests  us  holds  our  attention,  and  that  if  we  want 
to  keep  our  attention  upon  a  thing,  we  must  create 
an  interest  in  it  by  giving  it  our  attention.  But  the 
fundamental  truth  is  that  interest  is  primarily  the 
product  of  attention,  not  the  reverse.  If  we  con- 
tinually give  our  attention  to  anything  we  will  create 
an  interest  in  it,  and  in  a  general  way  it  may  be  said 
that  interest  is  in  proportion  to  attention.  Yet  no- 
thing is  more  evident  than  that  we  give  our  atten- 
tion much  more  easily  to  some  things  than  to  others. 
And  the  sad  fact  is  that  for  many  minds  the  things 
that  are  horrible  and  disgusting  are  far  more  interest- 
ing than  those  that  are  ennobling  and  refined. 

"  The  same  object,"  says  another,  "  which  is  most  re- 
pulsive on  account  of  the  character  of  the  feeling  it 
arouses,  may  be  very  attractive  on  account  of  its  power 
to  awaken  interest  and  so  to  fixate  attention.  A  group 
of  children  transfixed  with  interest  in  some  terrifying 
spectacle,  the  novel  reader  unable  to  tear  herself  away 
from  the  harrowing  tale,  the  historical  narrative  which  is 


42       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

read  without  weariness  or  note  of  passing  time,  because 
of  the  horrors  with  which  it  deals,  are  illustrations  in 
place  here." 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  many  of  the  works  of  fiction 
that  have  in  the  past  most  fascinated  mankind  are 
chiefly  detailed  histories  of  crimes  and  owe  their 
power  to  transfix  the  attention  in  large  measure  to 
that  fact.  Entire  exception  cannot  be  made  in  this 
regard  even  for  such  masterpieces  of  their  sort  as 
Hawthorne's  Scarlet  Letter,  Milton's  Paradise  Lost, 
Dante's  Lnferno,  or  Shakespeare's  Hamlet  and  Mac- 
beth. Tragedy  and  comedy  at  their  best  treat  of  the 
wrongs  and  follies  of  men,  and  so  long  as  human 
beings  continue  to  give  their  attention  so  absorb- 
ingly to  such  phases  of  life,  they  will  continue  to 
hold  a  high  place  in  the  literature  of  the  world.  Still 
we  can  if  we  will  turn  our  attention  more  and  more 
into  new  channels.  We  can  distribute  it,  as  it  were, 
over  a  wider  area  and  create  an  interest  in  other 
matters.  But  the  point  here  to  be  emphasised  is 
that  whether  the  interest  awakened  is  in  the  pursuit 
of  a  science,  the  development  of  a  philosophy,  the 
construction  of  a  work  of  art,  or  the  introduction  of 
rational  ideas  in  religion,  the  intensity  of  the  interest 
will  primarily  depend  upon  the  attention  they  re- 
ceive. 

To  what  extent  the  objects  to  which  we  are 
capable  of  giving  our  attention  are  within  our  con- 
trol will  best  be  seen  when  we  have  duly  considered 
the  relation  of  attention  to  the  will.  If  we  take  will 
in  its  broadest  meaning  of  any  form  of  mental  act- 


Attention  and  Mental  Life         43 

ivity,  then  of  course  will  is  present  in  all  kinds  of 
attention  both  forced  and  voluntary.  In  this  sense 
of  the  term  every  being  that  has  any  psychic  energy 
at  all  would  be  said  to  have  a  "will  of  its  own." 
But  we  are  here  using  will  as  indicating  the  power 
of  man  to  make  an  intelligent,  purposeful  choice. 
Now,  while  it  is  true  that  the  range  of  things  to 
which  we  can  give  our  attention  is  fixed  by  neural 
conditions,  yet  the  amount  of  attention  we  can  give 
a  thing  that  has  once  caught  our  attention  is  largely 
a  matter  of  our  own  free  will.  We  may  not  be  able 
to  introduce  absolutely  new  ideas  into  consciousness, 
but  we  can  prolong  the  stay  of  some  that  do  come 
there  and  drive  out  others  and  thus  give  them  a 
chance  to  affect  our  action.  We  may  not  be  able  to 
hold  them  there  but  for  a  moment,  yet  that  moment 
may  seal  our  doom.  It  may  turn  the  stream  of  our 
thoughts  into  a  wholly  new  channel,  giving  rise  to 
new  emotions  and  revolutionising  our  lives. 

Equally  clear  is  it  that  the  way  to  influence  others 
and  control  the  action  of  their  wills  is  to  concentrate 
their  entire  attention  upon  the  course  we  wish  them 
to  pursue.  The  present  method  of  advertising  will 
illustrate  this  point.  The  principle  is,  advertise  the 
article  so  extensively  and  keep  it  so  constantly  be- 
fore the  attention  of  the  public  that  when  any  one 
wants  something  of  the  sort  his  mind  will  spontane- 
ously turn  to  it,  and  he  will  almost  automatically 
send  in  his  order  for  it.  Hence  the  motto  with 
many  business  men  is:  "Wholesale  advertising  or 
none  at  all."  How  many  people  there  are  in  all 
spheres  of   life  who  owe  their  prominence  to  the 


y 


44      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

knack  they  have  of  always  keeping  themselves  talked 
about  by  the  press  and  general  public !  Some  law- 
yers acquire  extraordinary  power  over  juries  by  the 
skill  with  which  they  concentrate  their  attention 
upon  some  accidental  circumstance  in  the  case,  and 
thus  divert  their  minds  from  any  consideration  of  its 
real  merits. 

The  poets  and  prose  writers  of  our  day  who  hold 
that  whatever  is  human  is  a  proper  subject  for  their 
pen,  often  debauch  the  taste  and  moral  sense  of  the 
public  with  vivid  descriptions  of  unrestrained  animal 
passions.  They  ignore  the  fact  that  the  prime  func- 
tion of  the  will  is  to  withdraw  the  attention  from 
such  matters  and  fix  it  upon  pure  and  ennobling 
themes.  Because  the  will  controls  the  imagination, 
"sets  it  going  and  keeps  it  going,"  through  its  con- 
trol of  the  attention,  it  is  responsible  for  what  the 
imagination  creates  as  well  as  for  the  habitual  direc- 
tion of  our  thoughts.  Furthermore,  it  is  because 
attention  leads  to  deliberation  that  the  will  can  make 
a  choice ;  and  as  character  is  always  the  result  of 
choice,  attention  is  vitally  related  to  the  very  highest 
product  of  the  will. 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  relation  of  genius 
and  attention,  and  it  is  commonly  supposed  that 
geniuses  excel  other  people  because  of  an  unusual 
power  of  sustained  attention.  But  Professor  James 
is  probably  correct  in  saying:  "It  is  their  genius 
making  them  attentive,  not  their  attention  making 
geniuses  of  them."  A  real  genius  is  a  genius  at 
birth.  In  such  a  mind  a  subject  seems  to  start  up 
and  grow  almost  without  any  effort,  because  it  is 


Attention  and  Mental  Life         45 

constantly  beholding  a  flood  of  unusual  relations 
that  awaken  new  interest  and  stimulate  to  new  en- 
deavours. As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  geniuses 
often  develop  very  little  voluntary  attention.  They 
do  not  need  to,  and  the  result  is  that  they  rarely  ac- 
complish any  work  that  is  in  proportion  to  their 
powers.  The  men  of  moderate  endowments  who 
develop  concentrated  attention  by  dint  of  will  are 
far  more  likely  to  excel  them  in  all  that  pertains  to 
good  judgment,  a  sound  character,  and  a  useful 
life. 

But  the  most  important  phase  of  our  subject  is  its 
application  to  education.  It  has  been  well  said  that 
the  education  that  develops  the  power  of  attention 
is  the  education  par  excellence.  Without  the  habit 
of  continuous  attention  all  endeavours  to  cultivate 
the  other  powers  will  be  of  little  avail.  The  train- 
ing of  the  attention  should  begin  at  the  earliest 
possible  period.  First  let  automatic  attention  be 
developed.  Help  the  baby  to  hold  the  attractive 
object  in  its  grasp,  to  press  it  to  its  lips,  to  pick  it  to 
pieces,  if  needs  be,  provided  its  interest  in  the 
operation  does  not  flag.  Stimulate  the  growing 
child  to  ask  the  question  Why?  of  everything  that 
excites  its  curiosity.  Let  not  its  power  of  concen- 
tration be  ruined  by  a  multitude  of  toys.  Soon  the 
need  of  a  teacher  will  appear  whose  mission  it  is 
to  help  the  child  fix  its  voluntary  attention  upon 
objects  that  in  themselves  may  have  at  first  little  or 
no  attractive  power.  At  the  outset,  however,  pleas- 
ing things  should  first  be  studied  and  then  the  in- 
different.    The  teacher  should  discover  some  way  of 


46      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

awakening  interest  by  linking  the  present  task  with 
something  in  the  child's  past  experience.  The  old 
and  familiar  will  help  to  hold  the  new. 

The  matter  of  preperception  comes  in  here  with 
special  force.  Whatever  arouses  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject in  advance  will  tend  to  make  attention  easy. 
Curiosity  should  be  constantly  appealed  to  so  that 
the  new  thing  may  seem  to  fit  in  so  far  as  possible 
with  a  previous  expectation. 

No  topic  should  be  pursued  so  long  as  to  weary 
the  attention.  With  young  children  the  subjects  of 
study  should  be  numerous,  recitations  short,  and  re- 
cesses frequent.  Attention  in  common  with  all  the 
other  mental  powers  rests  on  a  physical  basis.  If 
the  activity  of  the  brain  centres  is  impaired  by  too 
great  a  flow  of  blood  to  the  brain  or  too  little,  by 
overwork  or  disease,  the  effect  upon  the  attention  is 
most  disastrous.  This  impairment  of  the  brain  can 
easily  happen.  Hence  in  early  life,  that  is,  up  to 
the  twelfth  or  fourteenth  year,  it  is  better  to  err  by 
having  too  short  periods  of  study  than  too  long. 
Many  a  child  is  punished  for  inattention  when  longer 
attention  to  the  matter  in  hand  is  utterly  beyond  its 
power. 

An  appeal  to  the  motives  of  hope  and  fear  is 
under  certain  conditions  of  great  help  in  developing 
attention.  For  this  reason  if  for  no  other  the  use 
of  positive  rewards  and  commands  is  by  no  means 
to  be  ignored.  Especially  is  this  true  during  the 
transitional  period  between  automatic  and  voluntary 
attention.  Then  the  will  is  weak  and  needs  an  occa- 
sional tonic.      Unusual  motives  may  frequently  be 


Attention  and  Mental  Life         47 

employed  at   this  period  that  later  should  be  dis- 
pensed with  altogether. 

Children  as  well  as  adults  vary  greatly  in  their 
power  of  sustained  attention.  Some  pass  too  quickly 
from  object  to  object  and  need  restraint,  while  others 
dwell  longer  upon  the  matter  in  hand  than  their  own 
good  or  the  subject  requires.  Hence  it  will  often 
happen  that  the  means  used  to  develop  a  well- 
balanced  power  of  attention  in  one  person  will  not 
be  successful  with  another.  Each  individual  case, 
if  possible,  should  have  individual  treatment.  The 
parent  as  well  as  the  teacher  should  carefully  attend 
to  the  training  of  this  power. 


CHAPTER   III 

HOW   AND   WHAT   WE   REMEMBER 

THE  ancient  Greeks,  almost  as  far  back  as  we  can 
trace  their  history,  were  accustomed  to  speak 
of  memory  as  the  Mother  of  the  Muses.  This  was 
not  an  accident  on  their  part,  but  a  proof  of  their 
remarkable  intellectual  insight.  If  they  had  lived  in 
our  day  they  would  have  seen  little  or  no  reason  for 
changing  their  view  of  the  matter.  For  modern 
scientific  research  shows  us  beyond  question  that 
even  the  simplest  operations  of  the  mind  require  the 
constant  presence  and  aid  of  memory.  No  percep- 
tion of  external  objects  can  be  made  without  it  and 
no  association  of  one  idea  with  another  is  possible 
until  memory  has  first  of  all  performed  its  appro- 
priate task. 

When  we  say  that  we  see  an  apple  we  actually 
experience  at  the  moment  only  the  single  sensation 
of  sight.  But  what  we  do  when  we  make  such  an 
assertion  is  to  put  along  with  this  sensation  many 
other  remembered  sensations,  such  as  those  of  taste 
and  smell  and  touch.  Otherwise  we  should  not  have 
data  enough  to  make  any  assertion  at  all  about  the 
matter.  What  is  true  of  perception  is  true  of  every 
other  mental  process.     If  memory   did   not  bring 

48 


How  We  Remember  49 

forth  the  material  out  of  its  storehouse  there  would 
be  no  knowledge  of  the  past,  no  appreciation  of  the 
present,  no  anticipation  of  what  is  to  come.  We 
may  even  go  so  far  as  to  assert  that  if  we  could  not 
remember  we  should  not  know  enough  to  know  that 
we  exist. 

Hence  the  Greek  idea  that  there  would  be  no 
poetry,  no  art,  no  science,  without  memory  is  a 
perfectly  Rational  one;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  see 
that  man  would  revert  without  it  into  a  condition 
below  that  of  the  wildest  savage  or  even  the  most 
insignificant  of  brutes.  If  all  memory  of  every 
sort  should  be  lost  even  our  most  fundamental  in- 
stincts would  also  perish.  For  they  are  nothing 
less  than  the  stored-up  memories  of  the  doings  of 
our  ancestors  reaching  far  back  into  the  prehistoric 
past. 

The  earliest  investigators  who  sought  to  account 
for  memory  thought  it  was  due  to  the  distribution 
of  air  in  our  bodies.  When  it  was  evenly  distributed 
they  said  we  remember;  and  when  unevenly,  we 
forget.  Later  Plato,  while  not  really  attempting  to 
explain  memory,  represented  Socrates  as  saying  in 
the  TJieatetus : 

' '  There  exists  in  the  mind  of  man  a  block  of  wax, 
which  is  of  different  sizes  in  different  men;  harder, 
moister,  and  having  more  or  less  of  purity  in  one  than 
another;  and  in  some  of  an  intermediate  quality.  .  .  . 
When  we  wish  to  remember  anything  which  we  have  seen 
or  heard  or  thought  in  our  minds,  we  hold  the  wax  to  the 
perceptions  and  thoughts,  and  in  that  receive  the  im- 
pression of  them  as  from  the  seal  of  a  ring." 


50      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

In  accordance  with  his  doctrine  of  the  pre-existence 
of  the  soul  Plato  maintained  that  all  knowledge  is 
remembrance.  It  consists  in  calling  back  again  into 
consciousness  what  was  once  fully  known  in  a  pre- 
existent  state.  Memory  is  thus,  in  his  view,  the 
most  important  power  of  the  soul  and  partakes  of 
its  eternal  essence. 

Aristotle  was  the  first  writer  to  treat  the  matter 
of  the  memory  scientifically  and  this  he  did  in  a  tract 
devoted  especially  to  the  subject.  He  thought  that 
perception  was  due  to  a  movement  in  a  sense  organ 
transmitted  by  means  of  the  pneuma  in  the  blood 
to  the  heart  and  that  this  movement  continued  after 
the  stimulus  that  occasioned  it  had  ceased  to  act. 
Thus  arose  after-images  and  it  was  these  after-images 
that  constituted  the  elements  of  memory.  Only 
'^hose  things  could  be  remembered  that  implied  the 
formation  of  these  images.  In  accord  with  this  view 
he  formulated  his  famous  doctrine  of  the  association 
of  images  or  ideas, — namely,  by  contiguity  in  time 
and  space,  by  similarity,  and  by  contrast.  He 
thought  memory  did  not  belong  to  the  immortal 
part  of  our  nature,  but  to  what  he  called  the  passive 
intellect  and  perished  with  the  body.  Only  a  few 
animals  in  his  opinion  had  a  memory  and  none  of 
them  possessed  the  power  of  associating  ideas. 

Emerson  says  somewhere  that  all  men  are  natur- 
ally divided  into  Platonists  and  Aristotelians.  This 
is  substantially  true  at  least  of  students  of  the  sub- 
ject of  memory.  For  most  of  the  great  writers  on 
the  subject  since  their  day  have  regarded  memory 
either  as  a  purely  mental  power,  limited  at  present 


How  We  Remember  51 

perhaps  by  the  body,  but  not  dependent  upon  it  and 
immortal  by  its  very  essence,  or  as  a  power  insepar- 
ably connected  with  the  body,  all  the  images  of 
memory  being  merely  the  relics  of  former  sensations, 
and  being  due  to  physiological  processes,  weaker  it 
is  true,  but  not  otherwise  essentially  different  from 
those  experienced  when  the  objects  were  originally 
perceived.  On  the  one  side  we  have  St.  Augustine, 
Leibnitz,  Kant,  and  the  German  idealists,  including 
also  for  substance  of  doctrine  the  entire  Scottish 
school.  On  the  other  should  be  put  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas, Hobbes,  Locke,  Condillac,  Bonnet,  Herbart, 
Mill,  Alexander  Bain,  and  Herbert  Spencer. 

In  our  day  it  has  come  to  be  universally  recog- 
nised by  scientific  observers  that  an  act  of  memory 
is  not  a  simple  act,  but  on  the  contrary  decidedly 
complex.  All  admit  that  fully  to  remember  a  past 
experience  is  just  as  complicated  an  act  as  the 
original  experience  itself.  In  fact,  it  is  doing  over 
again  just  the  same  thing  that  was  done  when  we 
first  had  the  experience.  The  only  difference  in  the 
two  acts  is  a  difference  in  degree.  When  I  call  up 
in  memory  the  orange  I  ate  last  week,  I  see  it  over 
again,  I  feel  it  over  again,  I  taste  it  over  again,  and 
do  many  things  over  again  with  reference  to  it  just 
as  really  as  I  did  in  my  first  experience  with  it. 

A  completed  act  of  memory  involves  at  least  three 
things,  and  the  first  of  these  is  retention.  It  used  to 
be  held  that  images  of  things  once  experienced  are 
stored  away  in  the  pigeon-holes  of  the  soul  and  that 
when  we  recall  anything  we  simply  bring  one  of  these 
images  out  into  view.     But  it  is  now  known  that  the 


52      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

mind  does  not  have  any  such  pigeon-holes.  When 
we  speak  of  memory  as  a  repository  or  storehouse 
of  past  acquisitions,  meaning  by  it  that  ideas  or 
images  of  things  are  treasured  up  in  it,  we  are  talk- 
ing about  a  fiction  of  the  imagination,  not  a  veritable 
matter  of  fact.  That  there  is  any  retention  at  all 
connected  with  memory  is  purely  a  matter  of  infer- 
ence. We  have  no  conscious  knowledge  of  the  fact. 
That  retention  is  physical  is  now  established  be- 
yond all  reasonable  doubt  by  a  great  variety  of  facts. 
The  first  great  experimenter  on  this  subject  was 
Hermann  Munk,  Professor  of  Physiology  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Berlin.  He  published  the  result  of  his 
investigation  in  1881,  Among  the  things  he  did 
to  prove  that  retention  is  physical  was  to  take  a  dog 
and  cut  out  the  entire  posterior  portion  of  his  brain. 
He  found  the  dog  was  totally  unable  to  see  anything 
and  had  lost  all  memory  of  everything  he  had  seen. 
He  was  still  able  to  run  about  and  to  hear  and  smell 
and  taste  as  well  as  ever.  Then  he  took  another 
dog  and  cut  out  only  a  certain  portion  of  this  pos- 
terior part  of  the  brain.  In  a  few  days  after  the 
wound  was  healed,  the  dog  jumped  over  any  ob- 
stacle placed  in  his  way  just  as  before,  and  used  his 
sense  of  smell  and  taste  and  hearing  as  usual,  but  he 
could  not  recognise  other  dogs  he  had  known  be- 
fore, or  his  own  puppies,  or  even  his  own  master. 
He  would  not  go  to  the  places  where  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  be  fed,  however  hungry  he  might  be;  and 
when  water  was  put  before  him  to  drink,  he  would 
not  recognise  that  it  was  water  or  drink  it  till  his 
nose  was  held  into  it.     The  whip,  the  sight  of  which 


How  We  Remember  53 

used  to  cause  him  to  rush  off  into  the  corner  in  great 
alarm,  had  no  more  terrors  for  him.  He  had  for- 
gotten all  about  its  use.  As  concerns  the  one  sense 
of-sight  he  was  put  back  into  the  position  of  a  new- 
born puppy.  He  ran  up  to  objects  and  smelled  of 
them  and  licked  them  just  as  he  did  when  a  puppy. 
After  a  long  line  of  experiences  he  learned  to  go, 
just  as  a  puppy  learns  to  go,  to  certain  places  for 
food.  By  degrees  he  learned  how  to  drink.  Gradu- 
ally he  got  acquainted  with  his  master  and  came  to 
dread  the  sight  of  the  whip.  In  various  ways  he 
gathered  together  a  new  set  of  sight  memories  very 
similar  to  those  he  had  before.  In  the  first  case  the 
dog  lost  all  sight  memories  and  could  never  acquire 
any  new  ones.  In  the  second  case  all  old  sight 
memories  were  gone,  but  the  possibility  of  forming 
new  memories  was  retained  because  all  the  area  of 
the  brain  devoted  to  sight  memories  was  not  extir- 
pated ;  a  small  ring  of  grey  matter  still  remained  in 
connection  with  the  optic  nerve,  leaving  room  for 
future  development. 

Similar  experiments  have  since  been  performed 
hundreds  of  times  on  other  senses  and  on  many 
kinds  of  animals.  It  has  been  found  that  if  a  certain 
area  of  the  temporal  region  of  the  brain  is  injured 
sound  memories  are  greatly  affected  and  if  the  area 
is  extirpated  entirely  all  memory  of  sounds  will  be 
gone  as  well  as  all  ability  to  perceive  them.  A  dog 
treated  in  this  way  will  pay  no  attention  to  the  snap 
of  his  master's  whip  or  his  whistle,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  is  in  full  possession  of  all  his  other  powers. 
These  experiments  upon  the  temporal  region  of  a 


54      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

dog  have  been  carried  on  with  such  exactness  that 
all  perception  and  memory  of  sounds  of  a  low  pitch 
have  been  destroyed  by  taking  out  the  anterior  por- 
tion of  this  region  of  the  brain  and  all  knowledge  of 
sounds  of  a  high  pitch  by  cutting  out  the  posterior 
portion. 

The  same  thing  has  been  done  with  the  memories 
connected  with  taste  and  smell  and  touch.  If  the 
upper  lateral  portion  of  the  brain  is  extirpated  all 
touch  memories  will  be  lost  and  cannot  be  regained 
unless  some  portion  of  this  area  remains  intact.  The 
large  motor  area  treasures  up  all  ability  to  move  the 
different  organs  of  the  body.  If  this  area  is  taken 
out  all  the  other  powers  may  continue  to  perform 
their  appropriate  functions,  but  all  memory  of  how  to 
bring  about  voluntary  movements  of  any  part  of  the 
organism  will  entirely  disappear. 

What  physiologists  have  established  by  a  great 
multitude  of  experiments  such  as  those  described 
above  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  teachings  of  anatomy. 
In  every  case  the  areas  experimented  upon  have 
been  found  to  be  connected  by  delicate  white  fibres 
carefully  insulated  with  their  respective  external 
organs.  The  sight  areas  are  connected  in  this  way 
with  the  eye,  the  sound  areas  with  the  ear,  the  touch 
areas  with  the  skin,  and  the  areas  connected  with 
voluntary  movements  with  the  muscles.  The  fact 
that  every  portion  of  the  cortex  of  the  brain  has  its 
own  memory  is  as  true  of  man  as  of  the  lower  animals. 
The  anatomy  of  the  human  brain  proves  this,  and 
what  physiologists  have  done  in  the  case  of  animals 
by  extirpation  is  done  in  the  case  of  man  by  disease. 


How  We  Remember  55 

A  clot  of  blood  in  any  one  of  these  areas  may 
easily  destroy  its  retentive  power.  Foi  the  arteries 
that  terminate  in  the  little  cone-shaped  masses  of 
grey  matter  that  make  up  the  cortex  of  the  brain  do 
not  connect  with  each  other  at  their  extremities  as 
they  do  in  some  organs.  Hence  they  sometimes  get 
plugged  up,  shutting  off  all  nourishment  from  the 
cones  and  causing  them  to  wither  and  die.  When 
this  occurs  the  memories  treasured  up  in  these  cones 
perish  also.  The  larger  the  artery  plugged,  the 
larger  the  area  of  the  brain  destroyed  and  the  greater 
the  loss  of  memory  occasioned  thereby.  The  pro- 
cess of  nature  which  results  in  the  atrophy  of  certain 
portions  of  the  brain  leads  students  of  pathology  to 
the  same  conclusion  concerning  man  as  has  already 
been  established  by  experiments  upon  animals.  By 
a  post-mortem  examination  of  the  brain  of  man  it  is 
found  that  the  loss  of  sight  memories  is  connected 
with  the  atrophy  or  lesion  of  the  sight  area  of  the 
cerebral  cortex,  the  loss  of  sound  memories  with  the 
atrophy  or  lesion  of  the  hearing  area,  the  loss  of 
taste  memories  with  the  atrophy  of  the  taste  area, 
and  so  for  all  the  other  memories. 

One  of  the  greatest  experts  on  this  subject  in  our 
day  is  Professor  Allen  Starr,  of  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians and  Surgeons  in  New  York.  Among  the 
many  cases  he  has  described  for  us  are  the  following : 
An  intelligent  gentleman  suddenly  discovered  that 
he  had  become  blind  in  the  right  half  of  both  eyes. 
He  could  see  only  one  half  of  a  ball  placed  before 
him.  He  could  not  read,  although  he  saw  the  letters 
as  distinctly  as  ever.      For  he  had  lost  the  memory 


56      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

of  their  significance  as  recognised  through  the  eye. 
He  could  write  as  well  as  ever,  but  could  not  read 
what  he  had  written.  The  memory  of  the  motion 
required  to  produce  the  letters  remained,  but  the 
memory  of  their  appearance  was  lost.  He  could 
read  books  made  for  the  blind  because  he  could 
bring  the  motor  organs  into  play  and  come  to  ap- 
preciate the  meaning  of  the  words  in  that  manner. 
He  could  not  recall  the  faces  and  scenes  of  the  past 
or  recognise  the  objects  about  him  as  known  before. 
When  he  went  out  into  the  street  everything  was 
new  to  him  and  he  could  not  find  his  way  about. 
The  general  mental  vigour  of  this  man  was  not 
noticeably  impaired.  He  had  no  paralysis.  His 
other  memories  were  good.  He  could  reason  as 
well  as  ever  about  his  past  experiences  except  those 
of  sight.  On  the  basis  of  many  other  similar  cases 
that  had  been  carefully  examined,  the  physician  who 
had  him  in  charge  knew  at  once  that  the  disease  was 
located  in  the  posterior  part  of  the  left  half  of  the 
brain  and  that  the  only  thing  for  him  to  do  was  to 
begin  to  learn  to  read  again  just  as  he  began  when  a 
boy. 

Another  case  given  by  Dr.  Starr  is  that  of  a  man 
noted  among  his  friends  for  his  excellent  memory. 
It  was  said  of  him  that  he  only  needed  to  read  a 
passage  over  once  carefully  to  remember  it  verbatim. 
One  day  he  suddenly  discovered  that  everything 
about  him  was  strange  and  unfamiliar.  He  could 
not  recall  by  sight  anything  he  had  known  before, 
— even  the  faces  of  his  wife  and  children.  When 
they  came  to  him  he  could  recognise  them  only  by 


How  We  Remember  57 

the  sound  of  their  voices.  "He  even  forgot,"  says 
Dr.  Starr,  "his  own  appearance,  and,  being  in  a 
large  public  gallery,  and  seeing,  as  he  supposed, 
some  one  in  a  doorway  barring  his  passage,  he 
stepped  forward  to  ask  the  stranger  to  let  him  pass, 
when  by  the  motions  he  realised  that  it  was  his  own 
figure  seen  in  a  large  mirror."  This  loss  of  sight 
memories  affected  even  his  dreams.  For  he  no 
longer  saw  objects  in  his  dreams,  but  all  his  dream 
constructions  had  to  do  with  material  furnished  by 
his  other  senses,  such  as  sounds  and  tastes  and 
smells. 

A  third  of  these  cases  well  illustrates  the  fact  that 
a  loss  of  visual  memories  is  not  always  permanent. 
A  district  messenger  boy  known  to  Dr.  Starr  on 
several  occasions  suddenly  lost  all  knowledge  of  the 
streets  where  he  was  to  deliver  his  messages,  al- 
though he  had  been  familiar  with  them  from  child- 
hood, and  had  to  be  shown  his  way  home  by  the 
police.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  hours  the  lost 
knowledge  would  come  back  to  him.  "This  loss  of 
memory,"  says  Dr.  Starr,  "can  be  explained  by  the 
hypothesis  that  a  spasm  of  the  arteries  occurred  in 
the  posterior  part  of  the  brain,  just  as  such  a  spasm 
in  those  of  the  face  gives  rise  to  a  sudden  pallor." 

Loss  of  memory  of  some  kind  often  occurs  as  a 
result  of  a  fever  or  some  physical  injury  and  may 
continue  for  some  time  after  the  patient  has  fully 
regained  his  usual  healthfulness.  Dr.  Abercrombie 
records  the  case  of  a  surgeon  who  on  recovering 
sensibility  after  a  fall  from  his  horse  gave  minute 
directions  as  to  how  he  should  be  treated,  but  lost 


58       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

entirely  all  recollection  of  his  wife  and  children. 
This  did  not  return  to  him  until  several  days  after- 
wards. An  eminent  professor  of  political  science 
known  to  the  writer  lost,  when  a  junior  in  college, 
all  his  knowledge  of  the  classics  in  consequence  of  a 
fever,  and  it  did  not  come  back  to  him  for  several 
months  after  his  general  health  was  fully  recovered. 
Frequently  the  loss  of  memory  in  these  cases  is 
never  regained.  Dr.  Beattie  tells  us  of  a  Greek 
scholar  who  lost  all  his  knowledge  of  that  language 
in  consequence  of  a  blow  on  the  head,  although  ex- 
periencing no  other  ill  effects  from  the  blow  as  far 
as  could  be  ascertained.  Dr.  Carpenter  reports  the 
case  of  a  boy  who,  being  struck  on  the  head,  lost  all 
knowledge  of  music  and  never  regained  it,  although 
nothing  else  apparently  was  knocked  out  of  him  at 
the  time.  Forbes  Winslow  tells  us  of  a  man  who 
on  recovering  from  an  illness  merely  forgot  the  let- 
ter F.  Many  peculiar  facts  of  this  sort  are  recorded 
by  the  ancients.  The  elder  Pliny  tells  of  a  man  who 
received  a  blow  from  a  stone  and  forgot  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet  only.  "Another  person,"  he  goes 
on  to  say,  "who  fell  from  a  very  high  roof  could  not 
so  much  as  recollect  his  mother,  or  his  relations  and 
neighbours.  Another  person,  in  consequence  of 
some  disease,  forgot  his  own  servants  even ;  and 
Messala  Corvinus,  the  orator,  lost  all  recollection  of 
his  own  name."  From  these  and  other  cases  he 
draws  the  following  conclusion  :  "Nothing  in  man  is 
of  so  frail  a  nature  as  the  memory ;  for  it  is  affected 
by  disease,  by  injuries,  and  even  by  fright;  being 
sometimes  partially  lost,  and  at  other  times  entirely 


How  We  Remember  59 

so."  In  all  these  cases  there  is  undoubtedly  an  im- 
pairment of  tissue  or  weakness  of  function  in  some 
brain  centre.  If  the  brain  centre  has  entirely  atro- 
phied the  loss  of  the  memory  will  be  permanent.  If 
the  lesion  is  only  partial  new  memories  may  be 
formed  quite  similar  to  the  old  ones;  and  if  the  loss 
of  memory  was  due  simply  to  temporary  spasms  of 
the  arteries,  it  may  be  almost  entirely  restored. 

When  it  is  argued  that  retention  is  physical  it  is 
sometimes  objected  that  there  is  not  room  enough 
in  the  brain  to  treasure  up  all  our  past  acquisitions. 
The  objection  is  based  on  an  ignorance  of  the  facts. 
The  number  of  separate  acquisitions  even  in  the  life 
of  the  most  highly  intellectual  is  only  a  few  thousand. 
It  is  now  maintained  by  careful  students  of  the 
subject  that  the  number  of  cells  in  the  cortex  of  the 
brain  reaches  up  to  several  billions.  Recent  experi- 
ment in  the  neurological  laboratory  of  Chicago  Uni- 
versity makes  the  number  over  9,000,000,000.  When 
we  remember  that  a  single  germ  cell  may  transmit 
all  of  the  characteristics  of  the  parent,  even  as  to  the 
colour  of  the  eyes  and  hair,  we  must  admit  that  only 
a  small  fraction  of  the  brain  capacity  of  any  human 
being  is  ever  called  into  special  service. 

Only  by  recognising  that  retention  is  physical  are 
we  able  rightly  to  answer  the  question.  Where  is 
the  idea  between  the  time  of  its  first  apprehension 
and  its  reappearance  in  consciousness  perhaps  years 
afterwards?  Clearly  it  is  nowhere.  As  Professor 
Paulsen  of  Berlin  University  remarks,  "Ideas  do 
not  exist  in  the  brain;  one  might  just  as  well  say 
they  are  in  the  stomach  or  in  the  moon.     The  one 


6o      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

would  not  be  more  absurd  than  the  other."  If  an 
idea  exists  at  all  it  exists  in  the  mind.  It  goes  out 
of  existence  on  leaving  consciousness.  Its  appro- 
priate brain  cell  treasures  up  the  possibility  of  its 
return,  but  it  will  not  come  again  into  existence 
until  it  is  recreated  in  just  the  same  way  as  it  was 
originally  perceived.  Only  on  the  basis  that  reten- 
tion is  physical  do  we  see  why  it  is  that  one  of  the 
most  cautious  psychologists  of  to-day  asserts  that 
"no  tenable  ground  exists  for  speaking  of  a  special 
organ  or  seat  of  memory.  Every  organ — indeed 
every  cerebral  area  and  every  psychic  nerve  cell — 
has  its  own  memory." 

The  second  element  that  we  discover  in  the  analy- 
sis of  any  completed  act  of  memory  is  reproduction. 
It  is  easy  to  see  that  a  purely  physical  act  cannot 
account  for  the  reappearance  of  an  image  in  con- 
sciousness. Retention  cannot  be  the  whole  of 
memory,  although  without  retention  there  can  be 
no  recollection  of  a  previous  conscious  act  or  state. 
Matter  cannot  recall  anything  any  more  than  the 
shoe  can  recall  the  pegs  driven  into  it  or  a  violin  the 
strokes  of  the  bow  that  have  been  drawn  across  its 
strings.  The  molecular  changes  that  have  taken 
place  in  the  brain  account  for  retention  and  the  di- 
rection given  to  the  flow  of  our  memories,  but  they 
do  not  account  for  the  revival  in  our  consciousness 
of  a  mental  image.  As  another  expresses  it:  "The 
physical  process  determines  what  I  shall  remember; 
the  mental  process  how  I  shall  remember  it." 

That  the  reproduction  of  a  past  experience  is  par- 
tially physical  is  involved  in  the  position  of  modern 


How  We  Remember  6i 

psychology  that  all  representation  is  presentation 
over  again,  the  only  difference  being  a  difference  in 
degree,  not  in  kind.  And  just  as  the  original  pre- 
sentation required  a  stimulus  to  arouse  the  brain 
cells  into  action  before  there  was  any  idea  of  the 
object  produced,  so  there  must  be  a  stimulus  to 
arouse  the  brain  cells  into  a  similar  action  before 
there  will  be  any  idea  of  the  object  reproduced. 
This  new  stimulus  of  the  centres  generally  comes 
from  within,  but  it  is  by  no  means  always  mental. 
There  is  a  vast  number  of  changes  constantly  going 
on  in  the  bodily  organism,  especially  in  the  brain 
itself;  any  one  of  which  may  excite  the  centres  so 
as  to  bring  about  the  reproduction  of  the  original 
experience. 

An  excellent  example  of  this  way  of  bringing 
about  such  a  reproduction  is  the  case  of  the  servant 
girl  reported  by  Dr.  Abercrombie  and  quoted  at 
length  by  Calderwood  in  his  work  on  Tlie  Relation 
of  Mind  and  Brain.  Soon  after  this  girl  went  out 
to  service  in  a  certain  family  beautiful  music  was 
often  heard  in  the  house  during  the  night  for  which 
no  cause  for  a  long  time  could  anywhere  be  dis- 
covered. At  length  the  sound  was  traced  to  the 
room  of  the  new  servant,  who  was  found  fast  asleep, 
but  uttering  from  her  lips  sounds  exactly  resembling 
the  tones  of  a  small  violin. 

"  On  further  observation,"  says  Dr.  Abercrombie,  "  it 
was  found  that,  after  being  about  two  hours  in  bed,  she 
became  restless  and  began  to  mutter  to  herself;  she  then 
uttered  sounds  precisely  resembling  the  tuning  of  a  viohn, 


62       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

and  at  length,  after  some  prelude,  dashed  off  into  elab- 
orate pieces  of  music,  which  she  performed  in  a  clear  and 
accurate  manner  and  with  a  sound  exactly  resembling 
the  most  delicate  modulations  of  that  instrument.  Dur- 
ing the  performance  she  sometimes  stopped,  made  the 
sound  of  retuning  her  instrument,  and  then  began  exactly 
where  she  had  stopped  in  the  most  correct  manner." 

When  she  awoke  she  was  usually  in  some  degree  of 
fever,  and  had  pains  in  her  throat  and  chest  for 
several  days  after,  but  she  had  no  recollection  of 
what  took  place  during  her  sleep.  Furthermore, 
she  had  no  talent  for  music  whatever,  could  not  tell 
one  of  the  pieces  from  another  when  they  were 
played  over  to  her,  and  had  no  recollection  of  ever 
having  heard  them  played  before  by  anybody. 

A  search  into  her  previous  history  brought  to  light 
the  fact  that  when  about  seven  years  of  age  she  had 
lived  in  a  family  where  the  room  next  to  her  sleep- 
ing room  was  occupied  by  a  man  who  sometimes 
played  on  a  violin  for  a  while  just  before  he  retired, 
and  had  played  these  pieces  among  others.  In  this 
case  the  girl  in  all  probability  reproduced  the  music 
automatically.  Some  change  in  her  physical  con- 
dition called  into  activity  the  brain  cells  that  treas- 
ured up  the  original  experience  and  the  organism 
responded  to  the  call. 

Another  interesting  case  of  this  sort  is  given  us 
by  Coleridge  in  his  BicgrapJiia  Literaria.  A  young 
woman  in  a  town  in  Germany  who  could  neither 
read  nor  write  when  seized  with  a  fever  talked 
fluently    in    Latin,    Greek,    and    Hebrew.      Whole 


How  We  Remember  63 

sheets  of  the  sentences  she  uttered  were  taken  down 
and  found  to  be  intelligible.  For  a  long  time  the 
matter  remained  a  mystery,  but  a  physician  who  be- 
came greatly  interested  in  the  case  finally  succeeded 
in  unravelling  it.  He  traced  the  woman's  history 
back  to  the  time  when  as  a  girl  of  nine  years  she  had 
lived  in  the  family  of  an  old  German  pastor.  He 
also  found  that  the  pastor  was  in  the  habit  of  read- 
ing aloud  out  of  his  books  in  a  room  adjoining  the 
kitchen  where  the  girl  did  her  work.  "The  books 
were  ransacked,"  Coleridge  continues,  "and  among 
them  were  found  several  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
Fathers,  together  with  a  collection  of  Rabbinical 
writings.  In  these  works  so  many  of  the  passages 
taken  down  at  the  young  woman's  bedside  were 
identified,  that  there  could  be  no  reasonable  doubt 
as  to  their  source." 

Among  the  patients  in  the  asylum  for  the  insane 
at  Middletown,  Connecticut,  in  1884  was  a  man  who 
had  formerly  been  a  labourer  in  a  stone  quarry. 
When  allowed  to  walk  about  the  grounds  he  would 
frequently  stop  under  a  tree,  lean  his  walking-stick 
up  against  its  trunk,  and  then  after  pacing  off  about 
ten  feet  from  the  tree  turn  round  and  declaim  to  the 
stick  in  the  most  classic  English.  His  orations  were 
taken  down  and  found  to  be  selections  from  an  old 
reading  book  that  he  had  used  in  school  when  a  boy. 
In  his  rational  moments  he  had  no  knowledge  of 
these  orations  and  the  evidence  was  good  that  he 
had  never  consciously  committed  them  to  memory. 
A  Lutheran  clergyman  in  Philadelphia  who  had  a 
large  number  of  Germans  and  Swedes  in  his  congre- 


64      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

gation  found  that  when  they  were  sick  they  would 
often  repeat  prayers  in  their  native  tongue,  although 
they  had  not  used  the  language  in  some  cases  for 
fifty  or  sixty  years  and  had  no  knowledge  of  it  when 
in  their  normal  condition. 

All  these  cases  are  in  substance  frequently  re- 
peated in  the  experiences  of  everyday  life,  although 
of  course  in  a  much  less  striking  manner.  Every 
skilful  musician  can  dash  off  a  simple  piece  he  has 
often  played  before  and  at  the  same  time  keep  up  a 
rapid  conversation  with  those  at  his  side.  An  ex- 
pert typewriter  is  not  conscious  of  the  continuous 
reproduction  of  the  muscular  exertion  necessary  to 
move  the  fingers,  and  very  rarely  do  any  of  us  men- 
tally reproduce  the  motions  of  our  tongue  and  lips 
in  ordinary  speech. 

All  present  memories  are  constantly  tending  to 
become  organic.  By  frequent  repetition  every  act 
requires  a  less  expenditure  of  force  to  bring  it  about. 
This  is  true  both  of  the  physical  side  of  the  act  and 
the  mental  side.  Less  blood  flows  to  the  brain,  less 
nervous  energy  is  expended,  and  less  heat  is  gener- 
ated by  the  chemical  process  involved ;  at  the  same 
time  the  amount  of  conscious  force  put  into  the  act 
is  greatly  lessened.  In  this  way  the  act  that  was  at 
first  performed  by  great  efTort  may  become  entirely 
automatic,  the  conscious  element  disappearing  alto- 
gether. All  our  thoughts  tend  to  store  themselves 
up  in  our  nervous  system,  just  as  the  sun  stores  up 
its  energy  in  the  coal.  In  this  way  what  is  called 
organic  memory  is  developed,  that  is,  the  organism 
reproduces  the  acquisitions  of  the  past  without  the 


How  We  Remember  65 

need  of  conscious  effort,  leaving  the  mind  free  for 
higher  attainments.  This  alone  makes  progress 
possible. 

If  every  time  we  performed  an  act  we  were 
obliged  to  consciously  remember  all  the  steps  neces- 
sary to  perform  it,  no  mental  energy  would  be  left 
for  new  acquisitions  and  all  advancement  would 
be  thwarted  at  the  outset.  Our  instincts  now  attend 
to  our  grosser  wants.  Without  them  we  should  re- 
vert almost  to  a  protoplasmic  state.  For  the  lowest 
organised  brute  comes  into  life  with  a  large  number 
of  instincts  which  are  simply  the  inherited  memories 
or  habits  of  previous  generations.  Many  of  our  in- 
herited habits  were  once  consciously  formed  and 
consciously  reproduced,  but  now  they  spring  into 
action  automatically  whenever  the  appropriate  en- 
vironment presents  itself  to  view.  This  is  the  truth 
expressed  in  the  statement  of  Herbert  Spencer  that 
"memory  embraces  all  that  class  of  facts  which  are 
in  process  of  becoming  organic.  It  continues  as 
long  as  these  facts  are  being  organised  and  disap- 
pears when  their  organisation  is  complete."  It  is 
also  the  truth  in  Hering's  famous  lecture  before  the 
Imperial  Academy  at  Vienna  in  1870,  "On  Memory 
as  a  Universal  Function  of  Organised  Matter." 
But  he  and  all  other  writers  are  wrong  who  hold  that 
organic  memory  is  the  whole  of  memory  or  is  its 
chief  and  most  important  factor. 

For,  while  admitting  that  experience  proves  be- 
yond reasonable  doubt  that  the  reproduction  of  past 
experiences  may  often  be  physical,  and  admitting 
also  that  the  same  brain  cells  are  used  in  reproduction 


66      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

as  in  the  original  acquisition,  yet  it  must  be  insisted 
upon  that  the  conscious  revival  of  the  original  image 
or  idea  is  always  a  mental  act,  not  a  physical.  Even 
when  the  nervous  system  is  artificially  excited  to 
great  activity  by  some  such  stimulant  as  strong  cof- 
fee, opium,  or  hasheesh,  there  will  be  no  conscious 
reproduction  without  the  co-operation  of  the  mind. 
And  if  we  wish  to  make  the  reproduction  as  accurate 
and  vivid  as  possible,  we  must  shut  out  all  distrac- 
tions so  that  the  mind  may  give  its  entire  energy  to 
the  matter.  It  is  no  accident  that  we  so  often  close 
our  eyes  and  rub  our  heads  when  trying  to  recall 
something  that  seems  for  the  moment  to  have  eluded 
us. 

But  an  act  of  memory  is  not  completed  until  we 
add  the  act  of  recognition,  and  this  is  wholly  a 
mental  act.  The  retention  might  be  perfect  and  the 
reproduction  exact  and  continuous  and  still  there  be 
no  true  act  of  memory.  What  has  been  retained  is 
of  no  value  unless  it  is  reproduced,  and  what  is  re- 
produced cannot  tell  us  anything  of  the  past  unless 
we  can  re-know  it.  The  chief  element  in  human 
memory  is  recognition.  It  is  in  this  act  that  we 
come  to  know  ourselves  as  now  in  a  condition  that 
we  were  in  once  before.  That  is,  in  a  completed 
act  of  memory  we  know  ourselves  as  the  same  selves 
that  we  were  in  the  original  acquisition.  The  past 
we  recall  and  recognise  is  known  as  our  past.  Hence 
memory  necessarily  involves  when  properly  analysed 
our  continued  existence  between  the  time  of  the 
first  perception  and  the  recognition  of  the  thing  then 
perceived. 


What  We  Remember  67 

With  this  analysis  before  us  of  what  it  is  to  re- 
member, we  are  prepared  to  discuss  intelligently 
what  it  is  to  forget.  With  the  old  views  of  memory 
(as  purely  a  mental  act)  it  was  often  held  that  for- 
getting is  impossible.  Anything  that  had  once 
come  into  the  mind  will  remain  there  for  ever. 
Present  experiences  may  temporarily  crowd  the 
past  into  the  background,  but  almost  any  moment 
circumstances  may  arise  when  it  will  all  come  up  into 
vivid  consciousness.  But  when  we  take  into  con- 
sideration the  facts  given  above  that  show  that  all 
retention  is  physical  and  that  there  are  as  many 
different  kinds  of  memory  as  there  are  different 
organs  of  sense  for  acquiring  knowledge,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  it  is  not  at  all  a  difficult  matter  to  lose  and 
lose  permanently  a  part  or  the  whole  of  any  kind  of 
memory.  Even  if  retention  is  perfect  there  may  be 
a  failure  in  reproduction  or  recognition,  and  any 
failure  in  either  will  involve  a  loss  of  memory. 

Some  of  the  ways  in  which  a  loss  of  memory  may 
occur  are  brought  to  light  in  attempting  to  diagnose 
a  case  of  aphasia  or  loss  of  speech.  Suppose  a 
young  lady  was  asked  if  she  liked  ice-cream  and  no 
answer  came  in  response.  The  failure  to  reply 
might  be  due  in  the  first  place  to  the  loss  of  all  her 
hearing  memories  and  the  power  to  hear  at  all ;  and 
in  the  second  place  to  a  loss  of  the  hearing  memories 
only,  and  therefore  she  could  not  attach  any  mean- 
ing to  the  inquiry,  although  she  distinctly  heard  the 
words.  In  the  third  place,  she  may  have  lost  the 
memory  of  how  to  connect  the  inquiry  with  her 
other  knowledge  so  as  to  come  to  a  conclusion.     In 


68       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

the  fourth  place,  she  may  have  lost  her  memory  of 
how  to  put  the  conclusion  into  words  provided  she 
had  formed  it;  and  lastly,  the  failure  to  reply  may 
have  been  due  solely  to  loss  of  memory  as  to  the 
proper  way  of  putting  into  motion  the  organs  of 
speech  so  as  to  express  the  conclusion  to  others. 

The  memory  of  children  before  the  fifth  or  sixth 
year  is  very  weak  and  uncertain  because  the  associa- 
tion tracts  in  the  brain  are  not  firmly  established 
before  that  age,  while  old  people  fail  in  memory  be- 
cause the  brain  centres  are  beginning  to  atrophy. 
After  recovery  from  fevers  it  not  infrequently  hap- 
pens that  some  kind  of  knowledge  is  lost  and  lost 
for  all  time. 

But  even  where  there  is  no  known  impairment  of 
brain  tissue  grave  doubts  are  often  to  be  thrown 
over  the  trustworthiness  of  memory.  We  are 
obliged  to  say  after  almost  every  statement  concern- 
ing the  past,  "Perhaps  I  dreamed  it,"  "Unless  my 
memory  plays  me  false."  Those  whose  business  it 
is  to  weigh  evidence  put  the  least  confidence  in 
memory  unsupported  by  documentary  evidence. 
Lawyers  and  historians  are  proverbially  suspicious 
even  of  their  own  memories,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
memories  of  others.  Unlimited  confidence  should 
not  be  put  in  the  testimony  of  an  eye-witness  even, 
although  his  own  belief  in  his  accuracy  be  most  un- 
doubted. It  is  extremely  easy  after  a  short  lapse  of 
time  to  mix  up  what  we  imagine  with  what  we 
actually  recall.  Nicolay  and  Hay  are  said  on  good 
authority  to  have  received  very  little  aid  in  writing 
their  history  of  Abraham  Lincoln  from  the  memory 


What  We  Remember  69 

of  his  contemporaries  and  to  have  adopted  the 
maxim  that  mere  memory  unsupported  by  docu- 
mentary evidence  is  "utterly  unreliable  after  a  lapse 
of  fifteen  years."  The  writer  asked  a  class  of 
seniors  in  college  to  write  out  on  a  sheet  of  paper 
what  they  remembered  about  the  weather  on  the 
Wednesday  immediately  preceding,  fifteen  minutes 
being  given  them  to  collect  their  thoughts.  About 
twenty  per  cent,  answered  fair  and  cold ;  eighteen 
per  cent.,  mild  and  slushy;  twelve  per  cent.,  rainy 
all  day;  thirteen  per  cent.,  cold  and  cloudy;  seven- 
teen per  cent.,  fair  and  windy;  twenty  per  cent.,  a 
warm  day  for  winter  and  cloudy. 

Pseudo-reminiscences  are  not  only  very  common 
among  the  insane,  where,  as  Kraepelin  has  shown, 
they  are  often  created  by  the  imagination  out  of 
whole  cloth,  but  probably  half  of  the  people  one 
meets  in  the  ordinary  conditions  of  life  have  had  at 
times  experiences  of  a  similar  sort.  Almost  every- 
body has  had  the  feeling  when  in  an  actually  new 
place  or  condition  of  having  been  there  before.  The 
phenomenon  of  so-called  double  memory  is  far  more 
common  than  we  think. 

It  is  not  impossible  to  manufacture  testimony  de 
novo,  and  well-informed  persons  do  not  hesitate  to 
afifirm  that  it  is  sometimes  done.  Some  lawyer,  let 
us  say,  is  looking  about  for  a  suitable  witness  to  an 
alleged  event.  He  selects  some  person  of  a  rather 
weak  memory  who  might  have  been  connected  with 
it.  He  tells  him  carefully  at  their  first  meeting  all 
the  details  of  the  event  in  question,  but  says  nothing 
to  him  about  remembering  it.     They  meet  again 


yo      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

shortly  and  the  lawyer  goes  over  the  same  story  and 
this  is  repeated  on  many  successive  occasions.  After 
several  weeks  perhaps  when  the  witness  is  asked  if 
he  remembers  the  event,  he  may  hesitate,  not  being 
quite  sure  whether  he  does  or  not.  But  the  images 
of  the  imagination  that  the  lawyer's  story  has  aroused 
will  soon  do  their  work.  In  a  few  months  all  will  be 
clear  to  him  and  he  will  go  into  any  court  and  swear 
to  full  knowledge  of  the  event  with  the  utmost  sin- 
cerity. All  careful  students  of  the  subject  of  mem- 
ory will  agree,  I  think,  with  Professor  Burnham  of 
Clarke  University,  who  has  made  the  subject  a  spe- 
cial study,  when  he  says:  "We  remember  only  the 
main  features  of  an  event  and  the  imagination  fills 
in  the  gaps.  Thus  remembrance  is  never  a  true  re- 
production of  reality.  It  is  always  more  or  less  of 
an  illusion.  At  best  it  is  an  approximation  to  the 
truth." 

This  view  of  the  fallibility  of  memory  emphasises 
the  importance  of  doing  everything  that  in  us  lies  to 
strengthen  and  extend  its  power.  For  although  a 
phenomenally  good  memory  is  not  the  sure  mark  of 
a  genius,  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  good  memory  is 
essential  to  success  in  any  calling  in  life,  whatever 
that  calling  may  be.  Inasmuch  as  we  cannot  re- 
member everything,  the  first  thing  we  should  do  is  to 
decide  what  we  want  to  forget.  The  art  of  forget- 
ting is  of  prime  importance  to  all  progress.  Our 
mental  energy  is  a  limited  quantity  and  should  not 
be  wasted  on  unimportant  details.  It  is  necessary 
to  learn  how  to  forget  in  order  to  know  how  to  re- 
member.    We  should  learn  to  detect  quickly  what 


What  We  Remember  71 

is  essential  and  put  the  rest  out  of  our  mind  by  main 
force  if  necessary.  The  philosopher  Kant  for  many 
years  had  a  servant  by  the  name  of  Lampe,  but  as 
the  servant  became  grossly  irregular  in  his  habits 
and  could  not  be  relied  upon  he  was  obliged  to  dis- 
charge him.  Thereupon  Kant  is  said  to  have  made 
this  note  in  his  daily  journal:  "Remember  to  forget 
Lampe."  Ladd  in  referring  to  this  incident  well 
says  that  "men  of  strong  character  acquire  unusual 
facility  in  refusing  attention  to  things  they  desire  to 
forget."  Forgetting,  instead  of  being  an  infirmity, 
may  often  be  the  one  stepping-stone  to  advance- 
ment. We  should  strive  to  forget  everything  that 
does  not  help  us  to  an  understanding  of  the  uni- 
verse. The  mind  that  refuses  to  forget  is  out  of 
harmony  with  the  condition  of  things.  Forgetting 
the  things  which  are  behind  in  every  high  calling 
necessarily  precedes  pressing  forward  to  the  things 
which  are  before. 

After  having  decided  what  to  throw  aside  and 
what  things  it  is  worth  while  to  remember,  we  should 
bear  in  mind  the  natural  law  that  memory  is  in  pro- 
portion to  attention.  Just  as  all  real  forgetting  in- 
volves withholding  the  mind  from  the  things  we  wish 
to  ignore,  so  all  real  remembering  involves  fixing 
the  attention  upon  the  things  we  wish  to  re-know. 
This  is  the  reason  why,  other  things  being  equal, 
those  things  are  the  best  remembered  that  are  the 
most  recent,  the  most  interesting,  the  most  fre- 
quently repeated.  Any  one  who  wishes  to  succeed 
in  any  given  undertaking  or  calling  must  pay  atten- 
tion to  the  things  that  relate  to   it.     A  safe  and 


72       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

reliable  memory  of  its  details  can  come  in  no  other 
way. 

Remarkable  instances  of  the  development  of 
memory  are  on  record,  but  some  of  them  are  prob- 
ably exaggerations.  Cyrus,  it  is  said,  learned  the 
name  of  every  soldier  in  his  army.  Themistocles 
knew  by  name  every  one  of  the  twenty  thousand 
citizens  of  Athens.  Scaliger  committed  to  memory 
the  whole  of  Homer's  Iliad  in  twenty-one  days. 
Zukertort  learned  how  to  play  twenty  games  of 
chess  at  a  time  with  his  eyes  blindfolded.  Zacharias 
Dase  learned  how  to  tell  at  a  glance  a  row  of  i88 
figures  and  repeat  them  forward  and  backward. 
Gustave  Dore  and  Horace  Vernet  painted  portraits 
from  a  single  sitting  and  another  painter  reproduced 
Rubens's  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter  from  memory  so 
perfectly  as  almost  to  deceive  the  experts.  Leib- 
nitz, Niebuhr,  Pascal,  and  many  others  have  per- 
formed equally  marvellous  feats  of  memory  in  their 
special  fields.  But  it  would  be  extremely  unwise 
for  most  men  to  try  to  imitate  these  examples.  For 
it  would  involve  a  loss  of  mental  energy  needed  in 
other  directions,  even  if  it  did  not  result  in  a  general 
mental  decline  from  an  overstraining  of  this  special 
power. 

While  memory  is  in  proportion  to  attention,  at- 
tention is  in  proportion  to  interest.  Hence  if  we 
wish  to  remember  well  we  must  do  all  we  can  to 
stimulate  interest,  and  this  can  best  be  done  by 
forming  a  clear  and  definite  conception  of  an  end  to 
be  attained.  Without  such  an  end  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  excite  interest  and  practically  impossible 


What  We  Remember  73 

to  have  any  memory  of  what  we  have  done  that  can 
be  relied  upon.  A  stenographer  can  write  volumes 
of  letters  at  the  dictation  of  others  and  not  be  able 
to  recall  a  single  sentence,  perhaps  even  a  single 
word,  without  the  greatest  effort.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  details  of  what  in  itself  would  be  a  most 
irksome  task  may  quickly  be  reproduced  if  it  is 
known  beforehand  that  one's  means  of  livelihood 
are  dependent  upon  so  doing.  Interest  makes  mem- 
ory reliable  because  it  makes  acquisition  agreeable 
and  at  the  same  time  easy  and  sure. 

While  it  is  true  that  concentrated  attention  is  the 
key  to  a  sound  and  trustworthy  memory,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  all  people  regardless  of  their  age  and  occu- 
pation should  not  try  to  remember  exactly  the  same 
things.  Children,  for  example,  should  concentrate 
their  attention  upon  what  they  are  experiencing 
through  their  senses,  mainly  upon  what  they  see 
and  hear.  Later  upon  words  and  places  and  events. 
Words  are  condensed  memories.  By  remembering 
words  we  remember  things  they  represent.  Most 
of  our  adult  memory  is  word  memory.  For,  as  an- 
other has  said,  we  all  carry  about  our  past  experi- 
ences done  up  in  verbal  packages.  Children  should 
early  get  acquainted  with  the  common  words  for 
things  in  other  languages  as  well  as  their  own.  For 
they  can  easily  remember  them  then,  while  later  it 
would  be  far  more  difficult.  And  so  with  the 
geography  of  their  own  and  other  countries  and  the 
chief  events  of  history,  mainly  in  the  form  of  simple 
biographies.  The  recognitive  element  in  memory  is 
generally  weak  in  children,  and  we  should  be  satisfied 


74      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

if  the  reproductive  element  comes  out  good  and 
strong.  But  adults  after  the  concept  centres  of  the 
brain  have  developed  should  attend  chiefly  to  the 
logical  relations  of  things,- — to  ideas,  to  arguments, 
and  to  courses  of  thought.  Unless  they  develop  a 
strong  logical  memory  they  can  never  succeed  in  the 
higher  walks  of  life.  A  good  local  and  temporal 
memory  is  essential  to  a  housemaid  or  valet,  but  it 
is  relatively  of  little  value  in  the  larger  spheres  of 
usefulness  and  is  cultivated  at  the  expense  of  the 
higher  powers. 

Moral  character  has  more  to  do  with  a  good  mem- 
ory than  is  generally  supposed.  Liars  as  a  rule  have 
extremely  poor  memories.  The  reason  of  this  is 
that  they  spend  all  their  time  in  trying  to  put  things 
together  in  wrong  relations.  They  take  up  arms 
against  things  as  they  are  and  attempt  to  make  them 
what  they  are  not.  As  a  consequence  their  thoughts 
often  get  into  such  confusion  that  they  cannot  tell 
what  the  truth  is,  however  much  they  may  strive  to 
do  so.  It  is  a  well-known  psychological  fact  that 
liars  not  infrequently  come  to  believe  in  the  reality 
of  their  own  fabrications.  A  good  conscience  as  well 
as  a  good  digestion  helps  to  keep  the  brain  clear  and 
the  understanding  keen  and  vigorous.  And  as  it  is 
only  under  these  conditions  that  we  can  perceive 
things  to  begin  with  in  their  true  relations,  it  is  evid- 
ent that  we  must  constantly  strive  to  keep  the  con- 
science pure  and  untroubled  if  we  are  going  to  recall 
things  with  the  least  expenditure  of  mental  power. 

Various  devices  have  been  invented  in  the  course 
of  history  for  assisting  the  memory,  but  most  of 


What  We  Remember  75 

them  have  not  shown  themselves  to  be  of  any  real 
value.  Cicero  and  Quintilian  were  the  first  to  elab- 
orate methods  of  this  sort.  The  expressions  "in 
the  first  place,"  "in  the  second  place,"  etc.,  are  said 
to  be  due  to  the  ancient  mnemonic  system  of 
imagining  a  large  house  with  many  rooms  in  it  and 
filling  each  room  in  regular  order  with  the  things  to 
be  remembered.  When  an  orator  came  to  the  de- 
livery of  his  oration  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  walk 
into  the  house,  rummage  around,  and  tell  what  he 
saw.  When  another  discourse  had  to  be  prepared 
another  house  was  imagined  and  fitted  up  as  before, 
till  at  last  a  person  constructed  a  mnemonic  street 
or  city  which  he  was  supposed  to  walk  through  at  his 
leisure.  During  the  Middle  Ages  much  attention 
was  given  to  mnemonic  devices  and  many  books 
were  written  on  the  subject,  but  apart  from  such 
meaningless  words  as  "vibgyor,"  to  designate  the 
order  of  the  colours  in  the  solar  spectrum,  and  a  few 
such  rhymes  as  "Thirty  days  hath  September, 
April,  June,  and  November,"  most  of  them  seem  to 
be  well  characterised  by  Bacon,  who  compares  them 
with  a  rope-walker  who  is  to  be  admired  for  his 
dexterity,  but  not  otherwise  to  be  highly  esteemed. 
There  is  no  royal  road  to  the  development  of  a 
good  memory.  The  laws  of  psychology  are  inexor- 
able. The  only  rational  way  by  which  a  thoughtful 
person  can  do  much  toward  the  cultivation  of  his 
memory  is  to  keep  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body, 
logically  to  apprehend  and  classify  his  facts,  and  then 
to  put  them  in  the  closest  relations  possible  to  the 
most  central  and  permanent  interests  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  IV 

HALLUCINATIONS  AND  THEIR  RELATION  TO  MENTAL 

DEVELOPMENT 

LORD  BROUGHAM  at  one  time  in  his  career 
earnestly  endeavoured  to  establish  a  law  mak- 
ing the  existence  of  an  hallucination  proof  positive 
of  insanity,  and  he  based  his  argument  upon  what 
in  his  day  was  universally  considered  to  be  valid 
ground.  He  admitted  without  hesitation  that  we 
are  all  frequently  subject  to  illusions  of  the  senses, 
but  he  insisted  that  a  mind  that  experiences  an  hal- 
lucination is  no  longer  in  possession  of  its  normal 
powers. 

According  to  all  the  authorities  in  psychology  of 
that  period  an  hallucination  was  a  purely  arbitrary 
creation  of  the  mind,  while  an  illusion  had  a  con- 
nection with  some  objective  reality.  For  example, 
if  a  person  thought  he  heard  the  voice  of  a  friend 
when  no  voice  at  all  had  called  him,  he  was  said  to 
have  an  hallucination ;  but  if  he  had  mistaken  some 
other  voice  for  that  of  his  friend,  his  state  of  mind 
was  called  an  illusion. 

It  is  now  known,  however,  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  pure  creation  of  the  mind.  We  can  no 
more  make  something  out  of  nothing  in  the  mental 

76 


Hallucinations  ^'^ 

world  than  we  can  in  the  material  world.  In  every 
mental  creation  the  mind  must  call  upon  its  past  ex- 
periences and  make  use  of  the  brain  cells  not  only 
to  call  up  those  experiences,  but  also  to  put  them 
together  into  new  relations,  whatever  those  relations 
may  be.  There  is,  therefore,  no  real  difference  be- 
tween hallucinations  and  illusions  and  the  distinc- 
tion should  disappear.  They  are  both  merely  false 
interpretations  of  certain  signs,  and  these  signs  are 
always  due  to  a  cause  as  truly  external  to  the  mind 
in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 

The  possibility  of  making  these  false  interpreta- 
tions primarily  arises  from  the  very  nature  of  per- 
ception itself,  which  so  far  from  being  a  simple  affair 
is  the  most  complex  and  intricate  mental  operation 
of  which  we  have  any  knowledge.  In  any  one  or 
all  the  steps  of  this  process  mistakes  may  occur. 
The  unreflecting  man  thinks  he  has  an  immediate 
face-to-face  knowledge  of  the  objects  about  him,  but 
the  truth  is  that  no  one  ever  perceives  anything  im- 
mediately, or  without  a  very  complex  process  in- 
volving acts  of  memory  and  imagination  as  well  as 
the  exercise  of  the  reasoning  powers. 

The  invariable  prerequisite  of  a  perception  of  any 
sort  is  the  existence  of  a  sensation.  This  is  immedi- 
ately known  by  the  mind.  But  what  has  given 
rise  to  this  sensation  is  quite  another  matter.  It  can 
never  be  known  with  absolute  certainty.  If  the 
sensation  happens  to  be  a  little  out  of  the  ordinary, 
it  may  take  a  long  time  to  make  up  one's  mind  what 
the  so-called  external  object  is  that  is  connected  with 
it ;  and  when  one  has  made  up  his  mind  about  it,  he 


78      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

may  be  far  astray  from  a  sound  judgment  in  the 
matter  —  which  is  the  same  as  saying  that  he  is 
labouring  under  an  hallucination  in  the  case. 

All  minds  that  attain  knowledge  through  the  use 
of  their  senses  experience  hallucinations,  and  the 
difference  between  a  well-developed  mind  and  an 
immature  mind  is  in  this  respect  a  difference  in  de- 
gree and  not  of  kind.  At  the  dawn  of  mind  when 
we  first  began  to  use  our  mental  powers  probably 
all  our  perceptions  were  hallucinations.  Lotze,  a 
great  German  thinker,  goes  too  far,  however,  when 
he  asserts  that  "the  whole  of  our  apprehension  of 
the  world  is  one  prolonged  deception,"  and  Taine 
equally  errs  in  his  famous  work  on  Intelligence  when 
he  declares  that  all  perception  is  hallucination, 
even  though  in  some  cases  it  may  turn  out  to  be 
true. 

Still  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  out  of  a  world 
of  hallucinations  that  we  gradually  come  to  a  clearer 
and  more  accurate  appreciation  of  things  as  they 
are.  After  the  young  of  the  human  species  have 
passed  through  all  the  lower  stages  of  animal  devel- 
opment, they  come  to  a  time  in  their  experience 
when  they  try  to  ascertain  the  causes  of  their  sensa- 
tions. And  it  is  not  at  all  remarkable  that  they 
cannot  tell  with  any  accuracy,  until  after  many  ex- 
periences, whether  the  cause  is  within  or  without 
the  bodily  organism.  If  they  guess  in  any  given 
case  that  the  cause  is  within  the  body  when  in  the 
common  judgment  of  mankind  it  is  without,  we  call 
their  opinion  a  wrong  guess,  an  hallucination.  The 
likelihood  that  the  first  guesses  will  be  correct  more 


Hallucinations  79 

frequently  than  erroneous  is  very  slight,  and  the 
likelihood  that  any  human  mind  will  ever  become 
infallible  in  its  guesses  is  slighter  still. 

A  convenient  classification  of  hallucinations  and 
one  sufficiently  accurate  for  our  purpose  is  made  by 
dividing  them  into  three  groups,  hallucinations  of 
sense-perception,  hallucinations  of  memory,  and 
hallucinations  of  reflective  thought,  A  brief  ex- 
amination of  each  of  these  groups  will  make  it  evid- 
ent why  hallucinations  are  so  frequent  and  enter  so 
largely  into  all  our  mental  life.  Probably  the  most 
common  of  all  hallucinations  occur  in  connection 
with  the  sense  of  sight.  This  is  not  remarkable 
when  we  consider  how  much  we  use  this  sense  and 
how  easy  it  is  to  attribute  the  cause  of  sensations  of 
sight  to  some  object  external  to  the  body,  when  in 
reality  they  have  been  due  to  other  causes,  such  as 
some  irritation  of  the  retina,  some  mechanical  press- 
ure upon  the  optic  nerve,  some  agitation  of  the 
sight  centre  brought  about  by  physical  changes  go- 
ing on  in  the  cells  themselves,  or  the  direct  agency 
of  the  mind  in  its  influence  upon  the  body. 

In  case  the  sensation  is  occasioned  by  a  slightly 
diseased  condition  of  the  retina  there  may  be  no  way 
for  the  person  to  find  it  out  except  by  indirect  in- 
formation through  some  other  sense  or  the  statement 
of  a  physician.  And  as  this  information  may  never 
come  to  him,  his  interpretation  of  his  sensation  may 
continually  be  erroneous  for  that  very  reason.  A 
tumour  in  the  brain  pressing  upon  the  optic  nerve, 
or  a  temporary  commotion  of  the  brain  cells  may  be 
the  cause  of  endless  sensations  of  sight ;  and  if  the 


8o      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

mind  has  no  other  data  to  work  on,  it  cannot  be 
expected  to  attribute  them  to  their  real  source. 

How  we  all  first  learned  to  see  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  famous  case  of  Kasper  Hauser.  This  boy  when 
about  seventeen  years  of  age  was  mysteriously  left 
in  the  streets  of  Nuremberg,  Germany,  at  midnight. 
May  26,  1828.  A  letter  was  attached  to  his  person 
giving  the  date  of  his  birth  as  April  13,  181 2,  but 
nothing  else  of  moment  concerning  his  history. 
About  the  only  thing  the  boy  himself  could  tell  of 
his  past  life  was  the  fact  that  he  had  always  been 
kept  in  a  dark  place  underground,  his  food  being 
given  to  him  by  a  person  who  never  showed  his 
face.  His  noble  bearing  (being,  as  is  now  supposed, 
the  abandoned  illegitimate  son  of  Grand  Duke 
Charles  of  Baden)  and  his  pitiable  condition  excited 
the  greatest  interest  and  sympathy  in  his  behalf. 
Friends  were  at  once  found  for  him  who  gave  him 
a  comfortable  home  and  sent  him  to  school.  His 
education  was,  however,  soon  cut  short.  For  after 
repeated  attempts  to  kill  him  made  by  unknown 
persons  he  was  waylaid  while  walking  in  the  royal 
gardens  at  Anspach  and  put  to  death  by  assassins 
on  December  17,  1833.  Sometime  before  he  died, 
however,  he  wrote  out  what  has  come  down  to  us 
as  his  own  account  of  how  the  world  appeared  to 
him  when  he  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  saw  the 
light  of  day  in  Nuremberg. 

In  this  account  he  says:  "What  I  then  saw  was 
very  ugly ;  for  when  I  looked  at  the  window  it  al- 
ways appeared  to  me  as  if  a  window-shutter  had 
been  placed  before  my  eyes,   upon  which  a  wall- 


Hallucinations  8r 

painter  had  spattered  the  contents  of  his  different 
brushes  filled  with  white,  blue,  green,  yellow,  and 
red  paint,  all  mingled  together.  Single  things,  as  I 
now  see  things,  I  could  not  at  that  time  recognise 
and  distinguish  from  each  other."  In  other  words, 
when  he  looked  out  of  the  window  in  the  light  of 
the  sun,  he  did  not  see  fields,  hills,  and  houses,  as 
we  adults  see  them,  but  as  a  baby  first  sees  them, — 
one  indiscriminate  blotch  of  colour  without  form  or 
significance.  This  coincides  with  what  is  now  the 
everyday  observation  of  oculists. 

When  a  surgical  operation  has  enabled  persons 
born  blind  to  see  they  always  find  themselves  in  a 
maze  of  hallucinations  regarding  the  interpretation 
of  their  new  sensations,  and  it  is  only  after  long  and 
often  painful  experience  that  the  maze  gradually  be- 
gins to  clear  away.  They  invariably  declare  that 
the  objects  either  touch  their  eyes  or  are  very  close 
to  them.  All  they  at  first  perceive  is  simply  a  con- 
fused patch  of  colour.  They  have  to  learn  just  as 
an  infant  does  that  the  different  spots  on  the  patch 
stand  for  external  individual  objects.  These  ex- 
periences confirm  the  teaching  of  modern  psychology 
that  we  very  gradually  learn  to  see  and  that  we 
make  a  multitude  of  mistakes  in  so  doing.  Even  at 
our  best  we  often  err  egregiously  as  to  the  size  of 
objects,  their  distance,  and  their  true  form. 

We  cannot  help  calling  a  mole-hill  a  mountain  if 
we  suppose  the  object  is  far  away ;  and,  if  the  air  is 
a  trifle  misty,  an  object  near  at  hand  we  are  obliged 
to  locate  at  a  distance  so  great  as  to  give  us  almost 
no  conception   of   its   true    character.     Everybody 

6 


82       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

knows  that  the  moon  is  not  so  large  to  our  sight 
when  seen  directly  overhead  as  when  seen  near  the 
horizon,  especially  if  trees  and  other  objects  inter- 
vene. Two  squares  of  equal  size  are  not  equal  to  us 
if  one  is  seen  with  parallel  lines  drawn  on  it  and  the 
other  has  a  plane  surface.  A  right  angle  is  much 
larger  than  it  really  is  to  everybody's  sight  if  it  is 
divided  up  into  small  angles.  If  this  is  true  of  such 
simple  objects  as  squares  and  angles,  what  must  be 
the  case  with  nearly  all  the  objects  of  our  everyday 
experience  which  are  vastly  more  confusing  and 
complex? 

Next  to  hallucinations  of  sight  come  perhaps  hal- 
lucinations of  hearing.  Anything  that  affects  the 
hearing  centre  in  the  brain  may  give  rise  to  sensations 
of  sound,  and  we  can  never  tell  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty whether  the  centre  has  been  agitated  by  an 
impulse  coming  from  within  the  organism  or  with- 
out. The  mother  who  hears  her  dead  child  calling 
her  may  be  interpreting  sensations  of  sound  as  faith- 
fully as  any  of  us  when  we  reply  to  the  question  of 
a  friend  who  has  called  to  inquire  after  our  health, 
or  to  invite  us  to  dinner.  We  have  to  learn  how  to 
hear  just  as  we  have  to  learn  how  to  see,  by  oft-re- 
peated experiences,  some  successful  and  some  un- 
successful. If  the  usual  conditions  under  which  the 
experiments  are  made  are  very  much  changed,  we 
may  constantly  err  as  to  the  direction  of  sounds  as 
well  as  the  distance  and  location  of  the  objects  that 
occasion  them.  "The  beating  of  our  own  hearts," 
says  a  noted  psychologist,  "may  be  mistaken  for  a 
knocking  at  the  door,   the  trampling  of  horses  in 


Hallucinations  83 

a  neighbouring  stable  and  the  cutting  of  wood  in  a 
neighbouring  cellar  may  be  thought  to  be  within 
our  own  dwelling.  The  rattling  of  a  cart  on  a 
bridge  may  be  mistaken  for  distant  thunder;  the 
humming  of  a  mosquito,  for  a  distant  cry  of  alarm 
or  the  sound  of  a  trumpet." 

Professor  James  of  Harvard,  in  describing  the 
ease  and  completeness  with  which  we  are  often  de- 
ceived as  to  the  cause  of  our  sensations  of  sound, 
gives  one  of  his  own  experiences  in  illustration. 

"  Sitting  reading  late  at  night,"  he  says,  "  I  suddenly 
heard  a  most  formidable  noise  proceeding  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  house,  which  it  seemed  to  fill.  It  ceased,  and 
in  a  moment  renewed  itself.  I  went  into  the  hall  to 
listen,  but  it  came  no  more.  Resuming  my  seat  in  the 
room,  however,  there  it  was  again,  low,  mighty,  alarm- 
ing, like  a  rising  flood  or  the  avatit  courier  of  an  awful 
gale.  It  came  from  all  space.  Quite  startled,  I  again 
went  into  the  hall,  but  it  had  already  ceased  once  more. 
On  returning  a  second  time  to  the  room,  I  discovered 
that  it  was  nothing  but  the  breathing  of  a  little  Scotch 
terrier  which  lay  asleep  on  the  floor."  And  he  adds: 
"The  noteworthy  thing  is  that  as  soon  as  I  recognised 
what  it  was,  I  was  compelled  to  think  it  a  different 
sound,  and  could  not  then  hear  it  as  I  had  heard  it  a 
moment  before." 

Almost  the  same  day  a  friend  who  was  calling  at 
his  house,  on  hearing  a  certain  sound,  exclaimed, 
"Hollo!  hear  that  hand  organ  in  the  garden."  It 
was  with  the  greatest  difificulty  that  he  was  persuaded 
that  all  he  heard  was  the  striking  of  the  clock  (in  the 


84      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

very  room  where  he  was  sitting)  which  happened  to 
have  a  rich  low  chime. 

The  frequency  with  which  hallucinations  occur  in 
connection  with  sensations  of  hearing  makes  our  in- 
terpretation of  such  sensations  most  untrustworthy 
when  much  accuracy  is  required.  On  some  of  the 
pilot  charts  issued  by  the  government  at  Washington 
we  find  the  warning  printed  in  red  ink :  "Shipwrecks 
are  often  caused  by  the  insistence  of  mariners  on  the 
infallibility  of  their  ears.  .  .  .  Implicit  reliance 
on  sound  signals  often  leads  to  danger,  if  not  death." 

We  know  that  all  sensations  of  hearing  are  occa- 
sioned by  something  external  to  the  mind.  They 
cannot  exist  unless  the  cells  of  the  hearing  centre  of 
the  brain  are  somehow  thrown  into  agitation.  But 
whether  the  something  that  agitates  them  is  within 
the  brain  itself  or  external  to  the  body  can  never  be 
settled  with  absolute  certainty.  From  childhood  to 
old  age,  all  we  can  do  amid  a  world  of  possible  hal- 
lucinations on  such  matters  is  to  judge  as  best  we 
may  what  the  cause  of  the  sensation  is  and  gracefully 
abide  by  the  result. 

Aristotle  long  ago  pointed  out  that  we  can  easily 
be  deceived  as  to  our  perception  of  touch  by  cross- 
ing the  fingers  and  feeling  some  small  object,  as  a  pea 
or  a  marble.  It  will  invariably  be  regarded  as  two 
objects.  The  reason  is  that  we  are  not  in  the  habit 
of  using  our  fingers  in  that  way.  The  new  sensations 
do  not  fit  in  with  our  preconceived  system  of  things 
in  space.  A  tooth  touched  by  the  tongue  is  a  great 
deal  larger  to  us  than  when  touched  by  the  finger. 
The  two  points  of  a  divider  seem  as  one  to  us  when 


Hallucinations  85 

pressed  against  the  middle  of  the  back,  if  they  are 
not  spread  more  than  two  and  a  half  inches  apart. 
"To  our  sense  perception,"  says  Dr.  Scripture,  a 
great  experimenter  in  such  matters,  "a  pound  of 
lead  is  heavier  than  a  pound  of  feathers."  If  a  man 
were  lifting  a  ten-pound  weight  he  would  not  know 
it  if  three  pounds  more  were  added  to  the  burden. 
If  we  plunge  a  cold  hand  into  warm  water  it  is  hot 
to  us,  and  if  our  hand  is  hot  the  same  water  is  cold 
to  us.  A  person  could  easily  be  boiled  to  death 
without  his  knowledge  if  we  had  all  the  facilities  for 
performing  the  experiment.  Frogs  are  often  so 
treated  in  psychological  laboratories  by  very  gradu- 
ally increasing  the  temperature. 

A  flat  object  laid  upon  the  hand  will  invariably 
seem  convex  to  our  touch  if  the  pressure  at  the 
centre  is  increased,  and  concave  if  the  pressure  is 
diminished.  A  cold  object  is  always  heavier  to  us 
than  a  warm  one  of  the  same  weight.  When  potas- 
sium was  first  discovered  everybody  who  handled  it 
thought  it  was  far  heavier  than  it  actually  was  simply 
because  it  had  a  metallic  lustre.  People  with  sight 
make  the  wildest  estimates  as  to  the  kind  of  objects 
they  are  brought  in  contact  with  through  touch 
when  experimented  upon  in  the  dark. 

Some  of  the  most  curious  of  all  tactual  hallucina- 
tions are  connected  with  our  dress.  We  actually  do 
think  that  we  increase  our  sphere  of  influence  when 
we  put  on  a  tall  hat,  or  a  claw-hammer  coat.  The 
savage  is  far  more  of  a  terror  in  his  own  eyes,  as  well 
as  in  the  eyes  of  others,  when  he  gets  on  his  war- 
paint  and  feathers.      The  chief  object  of  a  lady's 


86       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

train  is  to  impart  the  sense  of  elongation,  and  any 
indignity  to  it  is  resented  as  to  her  own  person. 
The  custom  of  taking  off  the  hat  in  the  presence  of 
certain  people  and  making  a  low  bow  is  largely 
based  on  the  hallucination  that  we  thereby  diminish 
the  amount  of  space  we  occupy  in  the  world  and 
increase  that  occupied  by  others. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  bring  further  illustrations 
from  our  everyday  experiences  with  the  senses  to 
establish  the  position  that  hallucinations  are  always 
occurring  in  what  we  call  normal  life.  But  what  we 
need  to  note  is  that  the  difference  between  the  daily 
experiences  of  the  sanest  of  us  and  the  experiences 
of  the  hypnotic  subject  and  the  lunatic  is  in  this  re- 
gard merely  a  matter  of  degree.  We  all  to  a  certain 
extent  see  what  we  expect  to  see,  hear  what  we  ex- 
pect to  hear,  smell  what  we  expect  to  smell, —  in 
short,  experience  almost  anything  that  we  expect  to 
experience.  It  is  a  well-attested  fact  of  modern 
psychology  that  the  mind  can  so  affect  the  cells  of 
the  brain  as  to  give  rise  to  sensations  just  as  real 
as  any  that  ever  come  within  our  knowledge.  As 
Ladd  expresses  it:  "Attention  not  only  intensifies 
sensations,  it  actually  creates  them."  This  is  simply 
saying  that  all  human  beings  are  influenced  by  the 
power  of  suggestion  and  the  fact  is  abundantly  con- 
firmed by  experiment  as  well  as  the  common  experi- 
ence of  mankind.  We  cannot  think  of  a  person  so 
low  down  in  the  scale  of  intelligence  as  not  to  be 
affected  by  it. 

How  easily  hallucinations  may  be  induced  by  the 
application  of  this  principle  of  suggestion  is  shown 


Hallucinations  8; 

by  oft-repeated  experiments  in  crystal  gazing,  and 
especially  those  conducted  upon  hypnotic  subjects. 
A  few  of  the  latter  by  well-known  authorities  are 
here  in  point. 

"  I  have  frequently  made,"  says  Professor  Forel,  "  the 
following  experiment.  During  the  hypnosis  I  told  Miss 
L.  that  on  awaking  she  would  find  two  violets  in  her  lap, 
both  of  them  natural  and  beautiful,  and  that  she  would 
give  me  the  prettier  flower;  but  I  laid  a  real  violet  on 
her  lap.  On  awaking  she  beheld  two  violets;  one  was 
brighter,  more  beautiful,  she  said,  and  therewith  she  gave 
me  the  corner  of  her  white  pocket-handkerchief,  but 
kept  for  herself  the  real  violet.  I  now  asked  whether 
she  believed  that  both  violets  were  real,  or  whether  one 
of  my  supposed  presents  known  to  her  from  previous  ex- 
perience were  among  them.  She  said  the  brighter  violet 
was  not  real,  because  on  the  pocket-handkerchief  it 
looked  so  flattened.  I  repeated  the  experiment  with  the 
suggestion  of  three  real  equally  dark  violets,  not  at  all 
flattened  but  fragrant,  with  stem  and  palpable  leaves; 
but  I  only  gave  her  one  genuine  violet.  This  time  Miss 
L.  was  completely  deceived,  and  was  utterly  unable  to 
tell  me  whether  one  of  the  violets,  or  two,  or  indeed  all 
three,  were  real  or  suggested." 

Another  case  he  gives  is  the  following : 

"  I  hand  to  another  hypnotised  lady  a  real  knife,  and 
tell  her  there  are  three.  Though  fully  awake  she  is  ab- 
solutely unable  to  distinguish  the  supposed  three  knives 
one  from  another,  not  even  if  she  employs  them  for  cut- 
ting, if  she  touches  them,  or  drums  on  the  window  pane. 
When  other  persons  later  derided  her  on  the  score  of  her 


88       Psychology  and  Common  Life 

illusion,  she  grew  angry  and  firmly  maintained  that  there 
had  been  three  knives,  that  I  only  later  had  hidden  two 
of  them;  she  had  seen  all  three  knives,  felt,  heard  them, 
and  would  not  yield  on  this  point." 

Bernheim  records  the  following  experience  with 
an  hypnotised  patient:  "In  six  days,"  he  told  her, 
"during  the  night  between  Thursday  and  Friday, 
you  will  see  the  nurse  come  to  your  bed  and  pour 
cold  water  over  your  feet."  On  the  following  Fri- 
day she  loudly  complained  that  the  nurse  had  poured 
cold  water  on  her  feet  during  the  night.  The  nurse 
was  called  but  naturally  denied  it.  He  then  said  to 
the  patient:  "It  was  a  dream,  for  you  know  how  I 
can  make  you  dream  ;  the  nurse  has  done  nothing." 
She  emphatically  declared  that  it  was  not  a  dream ; 
for  she  had  clearly  seen  it,  felt  the  water,  and  be- 
come wet. 

The  following  case  is  given  by  Beaunis  : 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of  July,  1884,  I  hypno- 
tised Miss  E.  and  gave  her  the  following  suggestion: 
'On  the  ist  of  January,  1885,  at  10  a.m.,  you  will  see  me. 
I  shall  come  to  wish  you  a  Happy  New  Year;  after  that 
is  done  I  shall  immediately  disappear.*  I  did  not  men- 
tion this  suggestion  to  anybody.  Miss  E.  lives  in  Nancy. 
I  was  myself  in  Paris  on  the  ist  day  of  January,  1885. 
That  day  Miss  E.  told  a  friend,  a  physician,  and  several 
other  persons  that  on  the  same  day  at  10  a.m.,  when  she 
was  in  her  room  she  heard  somebody  knocking  at  the 
door.  She  said:  'Come  in!  '  and  to  her  astonishment 
saw  me  enter,  and  heard  me  with  a  cheerful  voice  wish 
her  a  Happy  New  Year.     I  immediately  went  out;  she 


Hallucinations  89 

hastened  to  the  window  to  see  me  leave  the  house,  but 
did  not  see  any  further  trace  of  me.  To  her  surprise 
she  also  noticed  that  I,  at  that  season,  had  come  to  her 
in  a  summer  dress  (the  same  clothing  that  I  wore  at  the 
time  of  the  suggestion).  Her  attention  was  in  vain  called 
to  the  fact  that  I  was  in  Paris  on  the  ist  day  of  January, 
and  could  not  have  come  to  her  on  that  day.  Neverthe- 
less she  maintained  that  she  had  seen  and  heard  me,  and 
she  is  still  convinced  of  that,  in  spite  of  my  declaration 
that  it  was  impossible." 

The  strongest  confirmation  of  the  reality  of  hal- 
lucinations is  the  series  of  experiments  made  by 
Fere  and  Binet  showing  that  suggested  images  are 
obedient  to  the  laws  of  optics  as  truly  as  real  ones. 
For  example,  an  hypnotised  subject  was  told  that 
when  she  awoke  she  would  see  a  portrait  on  the 
table.  She  did  so,  and  when  Fere  held  a  prism  be- 
fore her  eyes  she  saw  it  double,  although  she  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  use  of  a  prism.  Other  instruments 
had  their  natural  effect  upon  the  portrait.  A  mirror 
reflected  it  and  an  opera-glass  brought  it  nearer  to 
view.  If  the  glass  was  inverted  it  was  projected  to 
a  greater  distance.  But  the  remarkable  fact  was  ob- 
served that  no  finer  details  were  revealed  than  could 
be  seen  with  the  naked  eye.  It  was  only  the  general 
characteristics  that  were  reflected  or  enlarged  by  the 
use  of  instruments. 

Everybody  knows  that  even  the  most  ordinary 
hypnotic  subject  will  be  nauseated  when  told  he  is 
drinking  ink  and  invigorated  when  told  he  is  drink- 
ing lemonade.     But  the  same  thing  is  true  in  a  less 


90      Psychology  and  Common  Life 


degree  of  us  all.  If  a  person  thoroughly  believes 
that  a  glass  of  pure  water  has  been  sweetened,  it 
will  be  sweet  to  his  taste,  and  a  rod  held  in  his  hand 
will  be  hot  to  his  touch  if  he  believes  it  has  been 
heated.  A  good  illustration  of  the  power  of  a 
dominant  idea  in  ordinary  wakefulness  is  a  case  cited 
by  Dr.  Carpenter.  A  procurator  known  to  him  had 
a  cofifin  exhumed  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  death 
of  the  person  buried  in  it.  While  waiting  for  the 
examiners  to  open  the  coffin  the  procurator  fainted 
away  because  of  the  strong  odour  of  decomposition. 
After  he  had  been  removed  from  the  room  the  cofifin 
was  opened  and  found  to  be  entirely  empty.  It  had 
never  been  used  for  any  corpse  whatever.  "When 
we  have  paid  the  faithless  plumber,"  says  another, 
"for  pretending  to  mend  our  drains,  the  intellect 
inhibits  the  nose  from  perceiving  the  same  unaltered 
odour  till  perhaps  several  days  go  by."  If  tradition 
is  to  be  relied  upon  in  the  matter,  Martin  Luther 
repeatedly  saw  the  devil,  and  Benvenuto  Cellini  the 
holy  Virgin  Mary.  Pascal  tells  us  that  he  often  saw 
a  fiery  gulf  open  at  his  side,  and  many  others  have 
had  like  visions.  The  explanation  of  all  these  and 
similar  experiences  is  not  found  in  denying  the 
reality  of  the  sensations,  but  in  their  false  interpret- 
ation. When  an  object  or  event  is  constantly  and 
strongly  expected,  the  mind  easily  conceives  of  it  as 
already  at  hand.  It  "creates"  the  sensation  and 
then  gives  it  a  local  habitation  and  a  name.  This  is 
the  reason  why  we  can  all  be  so  easily  deceived  by 
the  illusions  of  the  theatre  or  the  sleight-of-hand 
performances  of  the  skilled  magician. 


Hallucinations  91 

When  the  feelings  of  hope  or  fear  are  also  aroused 
the  most  familiar  experiences  may  give  rise  to  per- 
ceptions of  the  most  alarming  sort.  "Ordinary 
noises  become  the  footfall  of  burglars,  a  harmless 
bush  in  a  graveyard  is  a  spirit,  slight  bodily  pains 
are  made  the  symptoms  of  frightful  diseases."  Ro- 
manes, in  \\\s  Mental  Evolution  in  Animals,  tells  us 
of  his  disgust  at  the  fact  that  he  often  while  out 
hunting  shot  a  thrush  mistaking  it  for  a  woodcock, 
but  he  found  that  such  mistakes  are  very  common 
among  sportsmen.  James  in  commenting  upon 
these  and  similar  experiences  of  his  own  says : 

"  Any  one  waiting  in  a  dark  place  and  expecting  or 
fearing  strongly  a  certain  object  will  interpret  any  abrupt 
sensation  to  mean  that  object's  presence.  The  boy  play- 
ing '  I  spy,'  the  criminal  skulking  from  his  pursuers,  the 
superstitious  person  hurrying  through  the  woods  or  past 
the  churchyard  at  midnight,  the  man  lost  in  the  woods, 
the  girl  who  tremulously  has  made  an  evening  appoint- 
ment with  her  swain,  all  are  subject  to  illusions  of  sight 
and  sound  which  make  their  hearts  beat  till  they  are  ex- 
pelled. Twenty  times  a  day  the  lover  perambulating  the 
streets  with  his  preoccupied  fancy  will  think  he  perceives 
his  idol's  bonnet  before  him." 

/  The  hallucinations  of  a  person  suffering  from  de- 
(  lirium  tremens  are  simply  exaggerated  forms  of  what 
is  happening  to  him  every  day.  The  snakes  and 
terrible  monsters  that  torment  him  are  just  as  real 
to  him  as  anything  that  his  eyes  have  ever  beheld  in 
the  past.     His  sensations  of  sight  are  just  as  genuine 


92      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

as  any  sensations  ever  were.  He  has  simply  mis- 
interpreted them  and  come  to  a  wrong  conclusion  as 
to  their  cause.  From  the  standpoint  of  hallucina- 
tions of  perception  the  only  criterion  we  have  to  go 
by  in  deciding  who  is  sane  and  who  is  insane  is  the 
frequency  and  persistence  of  the  hallucinations. 
We  cannot  say  of  any  adult  mind  that  it  is  in  nor- 
mal possession  of  its  powers  unless  its  hallucinations 
are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule  and  unless  it 
allows  appropriate  evidence  to  dispel  them  when 
brought  to  view.    / 

But  not  only  is  every  normal  mind  subject  more 
or  less  to  hallucinations  in  perception,  but  the  same 
thing  is  also  true  in  regard  to  memory.  For  repre- 
sentation is  only  presentation  over  again  with  a  less 
degree  of  intensity  and  what  may  happen  in  the 
latter  case  may  also  happen  in  the  former.  Strictly 
speaking,  memory  and  perception  are  inseparably 
connected.  No  complete  act  of  perception  can  take 
place  without  memory  and  no  memory  can  occur 
without  a  previous  perception.  If  we  had  in  con- 
sciousness only  the  sensation  of  the  moment  and 
did  not  call  up  some  past  sensations  to  put  along 
with  it  we  would  never  be  in  a  condition  to  perceive 
anything  at  all. 

Ribot  has  written  an  able  work  on  Diseases  of 
Memory  in  which  many  cases  are  cited  of  hallucina- 
tion of  memory,  but  hallucinations  of  this  kind  are 
not  uncommon  where  there  is  no  disease  whatever. 
Not  long  ago  a  gentleman  of  unimpeachable  veracity 
swore  in  court  that  he  locked  a  certain  door  on  a 
certain  important  occasion  and  would  not  modify 


Hallucinations  93 

his  statement,  although  two  equally  reliable  gentle- 
men who  were  watching  him  swore  that  he  did  not 
lock  it.  He  was  as  certain  of  it  as  of  anything  he 
ever  did  in  his  life.  The  explanation  is  that  he  in- 
tended to  lock  it  and  he  put  as  much  mental  energy 
into  the  determination  as  he  would  have  expended 
if  he  had  actually  locked  it.  When  he  came  to 
think  the  matter  over  afterward  he  was  sure  that  he 
remembered  the  act. 

Every  one  who  has  much  to  do  with  the  examina- 
tion of  witnesses  in  court  ceases  to  be  surprised  at 
their  disagreement  as  to  important  details  and  in 
many  cases  even  at  their  absolute  contradictions. 
For  everybody  is  limited  in  what  he  can  remember 
and  has  to  imagine  the  missing  links  just  as  he  is 
limited  in  what  he  can  perceive.  Furthermore,  we 
often  remember  merely  what  we  want  to  remember 
just  as  we  perceive  what  we  want  to  perceive.  Even 
when  the  missing  links  are  filled  in  with  the  plain 
intention  to  deceive  they  may  easily  be  repeated  so 
often  as  to  be  finally  remembered  as  realities.  A 
story  originally  "made  out  of  whole  cloth  "  may 
come  to  be  recollected  as  a  genuine  experience. 
Undoubtedly  a  large  part  of  what  we  think  we  re- 
member of  our  childhood  is  simply  a  mass  of  stories 
that  we  heard  frequently  repeated  by  our  parents 
and  friends,  and  another  large  portion  is  due  to  the 
more  or  less  conscious  effort  to  surround  certain 
epochs  in  our  past  with  suitable  details. 
I  It  is  only  when  this  tendency  to  hallucinations 
regarding  the  past  becomes  overpowering  and  as- 
similates everything  else  that  occurs  in  the  mental 


94      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

life  to  itself  that  we  can  justly  take  it  as  a  test  of 
insanity.  An  excellent  example  of  such  a  case  is 
that  of  a  woman  reported  by  Baldwin  who  has  come 
to  identify  herself  so  completely  with  Martha  Wash- 
ington that  she  gives  detailed  accounts  of  many  in- 
cidents in  her  husband's  life  that  she  has  witnessed, 
calls  her  visitors  by  the  names  of  his  contemporaries, 
and  exhibits  necklaces  and  other  presents  that  he 
presented  to  her  before  his  death.  This  delusion 
has  crowded  out  all  remembrance  of  her  own  real 
past.  1 

Perhaps  no  hallucinations  of  memory  are  more 
frequent  than  those  connected  with  the  re-localisa- 
tion of  self.  An  act  of  memory  is  not  completed 
until  we  put  ourselves  back  in  the  time  and  place  of 
the  first  experience.  This  is  always  a  difificult  thing 
to  do.  Every  one  has  doubtless  had  the  curious 
feeling  of  familiarity  with  his  surroundings  when  he 
knew  from  other  considerations  that  he  had  never 
been  in  those  surroundings  before.  Plato  explains 
this  feeling  on  the  theory  that  it  is  simply  a  remin- 
iscence of  what  was  known  to  us  in  a  previous  state 
of  existence.  Many  would  explain  it  to-day  on  the 
theory  of  race-experience :  that  it  was  an  actual  scene 
in  the  life  of  our  ancestors  treasured  up  in  our  organ- 
ism and  by  our  own  act  of  memory  again  brought 
to  view.  While  there  is  probably  much  truth  in 
this  position  it  is  undoubtedly  the  case  that  most  of 
these  and  similar  experiences  are  chiefly  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  what  occurs  in  our  wakeful 
states  is  often  inseparably  confused  with  our  dreams. 

Paul  Radestock,  a  well-known  writer  on  this  sub- 


Hallucinations  95 

ject,  in  his  work  Schlaf  und  Traiun,  gives  us  a  record 
of  some  experiments  on  himself  bearing  on  this 
point. 

"When  I  have  been  taking  a  walk,"  he  says,  "with 
my  thoughts  quite  unfettered,  the  idea  has  often  occurred 
to  me  that  I  had  seen,  heard,  or  thought  of  this  or  that 
thing  once  before  without  being  able  to  recall  when, 
where,  and  in  what  circumstances.  This  happened  at 
the  time  when,  with  a  view  to  the  publication  of  the  pre- 
sent work,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  an  exact  record 
of  my  dreams.  Consequently,  I  was  able  to  turn  to  this 
after  these  impressions,  and  on  so  doing  I  generally 
found  the  conjecture  confirmed  that  I  had  previously 
dreamt  something  like  it." 

Sully,  in  commenting  on  this  record  in  his  work  on 
Illusions,  rightly  says : 

"  If,  as  we  have  found  some  of  the  best  authorities  say- 
ing, we  are,  when  asleep,  always  dreaming  more  or  less 
distinctly,  and  if,  as  we  know,  dreaming  is  a  continual 
process  of  transformation  of  our  waking  impressions  in 
new  combinations,  it  is  not  surprising  that  our  dreams 
should  sometimes  take  the  form  of  forecasts  of  our  wak- 
ing life,  and  that  consequently  objects  and  scenes  of  this 
life  never  before  seen  should  now  and  again  wear  a 
familiar  look." 

Inasmuch  as  all  our  dream-experiences  are  hal- 
lucinations and  nothing  but  hallucinations,  con- 
stant fusion  with  our  wakeful  states  cannot  help 
resulting  in  numerous  falsifications  of  our  past  his- 
tory. What  we  read  in  novels  as  well  as  what  we 
hear  from  others  is  also  frequently  woven  into  the 


96      Psychology  and  Common  Life 

one  continuous  series  of  conscious  experiences  that 
we  all  regard  as  making  up  our  past  lives.  How 
much  of  what  we  come  to  consider  as  ours  in  the 
past  is  real  and  how  much  is  hallucination  we  can 
never  determine.  Hence  we  can  never  settle  with 
certainty  what  our  actual  part  has  been  in  the  past. 
It  can  never  be  a  matter  of  immediate  recollection 
but  only  of  inference  and  "imaginative  conjecture." 

Our  sense  of  personal  identity  and  personal  con- 
tinuity undergoes  a  shock,  to  say  the  least,  when  we 
come  to  know  the  facts,  if  we  have  ever  supposed 
that  it  rested  on  a  clear  consciousness  of  our  exact 
position  in  time  and  place  in  space  when  recalling 
our  past.  "A  kind  of  sham  self  "  is  always  more  or 
less  mixed  up  with  our  true  self  in  every  attempt 
to  picture  a  remote  event,  and  we  can  never  be  sure 
that  the  sham  self  has  not  played  the  greater  role  in 
determining  our  present  state  of  consciousness  con- 
cerning it.  It  is  exceedingly  humiliating  to  find  out 
how  much  we  all  tend  to  exaggerate  our  importance 
when  any  chance  for  doing  it  comes  up  to  view. 

And  now  we  come  to  consider  the  hallucinations 
of  reflective  thought.  If  the  objective  reality  of 
the  material  we  have  to  reflect  upon  is  uncertain, 
much  more  must  be  the  conclusions  obtained  from 
it.  Sense  perception  and  memory  furnish  the  ma- 
terial and  we  have  already  seen  how  easily  they  may 
lead  us  astray.  Strictly  speaking,  every  fallacy  is 
?.n  hallucination.  It  is  a  failure  to  regard  things  as 
they  are,  a  failure  to  put  them  together  into  their 
real  relations.  And  these  failures  may  arise  in  a 
great  variety  of  ways. 


Hallucinations  97 

It  is  customary  in  works  on  logic  to  divide  all 
fallacies  into  two  main  divisions,  material  fallacies 
and  logical  fallacies,  and  then  to  subdivide  them 
according  to  the  special  plan  of  treatment  that  the 
individual  author  sees  fit  to  adopt.  It  is  not  our 
present  purpose  to  investigate  the  general  subject 
of  fallacies,  but  simply  to  point  out  the  fact  that 
they  are  all  a  species  of  illusions  or  hallucinations. 
For  they  are  merely  misinterpretations  of  experi- 
ences and  that  is  precisely  what  all  hallucinations 
are.  The  only  way  for  any  thinker  to  avoid  the 
charge  that  he  is  liable  to  hallucinations  in  his  con- 
clusions is  to  establish  the  position  that  he  never 
makes  a  mistake  in  his  reasoning  but  has  infallible 
powers.  As  no  one  is  likely  to  succeed  in  this  en- 
deavour we  must  admit  that  the  field  of  possible 
hallucinations  is  co-extensive  with  all  science. 

While  the  right  understanding  of  the  origin  and 
nature  of  hallucinations  is  of  great  help  in  the  ordin- 
ary affairs  of  every  individual,  it  is  of  special  im- 
portance to  those  who  in  any  way  have  to  do  with 
the  guidance  of  others.  A  teacher  of  young  child- 
ren, through  ignorance  of  this  subject,  may  do 
more  harm  in  a  few  weeks  to  their  tender  and  im- 
mature powers  than  years  of  subsequent  training 
can  counteract.  For  example,  severe  punishments 
for  lying  where  no  lie  was  intended  may  be  inflicted 
with  the  result  that  the  child  gives  up  all  effort  to 
tell  the  truth  or  at  least  doubts  his  ability  to  do  it 
even  if  he  tries.  A  physician  who  is  uninformed  on 
this  matter  is  unworthy  of  trust.      He  may  any  time 

be  the  means  of  sending  a  person  to  a  lunatic  asylum 
7 


98      Psychology  and  Common  Life 


who  has  no  more  reason  for  being  there  than  he  has 
himself.  ;  And  a  lawyer  who  fails  to  acquaint  himself 
with  these  well-established  psychological  facts  has 
no  secure  basis  upon  which  to  examine  witnesses 
or  estimate  the  value  of  evidence./ 

But  it  is  to  the  teacher  of  religion  that  a  proper 
understanding  of  this  subject  is  of  the  greatest  mo- 
ment. For  it  is  chiefly  in  matters  of  religion  that 
hallucinations  most  abound.  The  census  of  hallucin- 
ations carried  out  by  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search gives  ample  evidence  of  this  fact.  Superstition 
in  all  its  forms  is  based  upon  them,  from  the  fetish 
worship  of  the  untutored  savage  to  the  so-called 
visitations  of  the  Christian  saint.  All  savage  races 
and  many  nations  considerably  advanced  in  civilisa- 
tion people  the  world  about  them  with  innumerable 
spirits  that  must  be  propitiated  by  sacrifices  and 
gifts,  or  controlled  by  magic.  While  the  spirits  of 
ancestors  and  little  children  are  generally  regarded 
as  benevolently  inclined,  most  of  these  spectral 
forms  are  thought  of  as  malignant  beings  whose 
plots  and  machinations  must  be  thwarted  at  what- 
ever cost.  Hence  arise  human  sacrifices  and  licen- 
tious rites  of  the  most  degrading  sort.  A  very  large 
part  of  the  sin  and  misery  of  heathendom  is  due  to 
the  terrors  that  these  monsters  of  the  fancy  contin- 
ually excite. 

They  have  also  had  and  still  have  a  powerful  in- 
fluence in  all  so-called  civilised  lands.  Witchcraft, 
or  the  belief  that  certain  cunning  persons  can  com- 
municate with  these  malignant  supernal  powers  and 
extort  their  secrets  and  obtain   their  aid,   was  for 


Hallucinations  99 

centuries  the  nightmare  of  Christendom.  The  most 
ordinary  everyday  experiences  were  interpreted  as 
proof  of  the  possession  of  this  power.  The  early 
Church  did  not  question  its  reality  and  attributed  all 
the  wonders  of  the  heathen  religions  expressly  to  its 
activity.  With  the  conversion  of  the  Germanic  na- 
tions a  great  number  of  new  spirits  were  introduced 
and  the  term  witch  (VVitega)  is  derived  from  this 
source.  The  theology  of  Thomas  Aquinas  in  the 
thirteenth  century  greatly  revived  this  belief;  for 
the  symmetry  of  his  system  seemed  to  require  that 
Satan  should  have  at  least  as  numerous  and  ardent 
a  following  on  this  earth  as  was  found  in  the  ranks 
of  the  faithful. 

The  papal  bull  of  1484  gave  free  scope  to  witch 
hunters  and  admitted  their  worst  charges.  After 
the  distraction  of  the  Reformation  had  subsided  the 
persecution  of  witches  broke  out  with  redoubled  fury 
in  all  Christian  lands,  Catholic  and  Protestant  alike. 
Thousands  were  put  to  death  even  upon  their  own 
confession.  A  single  judge  in  Lorraine  boasted  in 
the  height  of  his  activity  that  he  had  already  dis- 
posed of  nine  hundred.  Not  only  were  old  women 
executed  and  those  whom  they  named  as  their  ac- 
complices, but  young  men  and  women  in  the  prime 
of  life  and  even  little  children,  three,  four,  and 
seven  years  of  age.  In  Scotland  witch  hunting 
reached  almost  as  great  a  degree  of  severity  as  on 
the  Continent,  and  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in 
1691-2,  under  the  influence  of  Cotton  Mather's 
Book  on  Memorable  Providences,  it  became  a  panic. 
Even  down  to  the  time  of  John  Wesley,  so  deeply 


loo    Psychology  and  Common  Life 

rooted  were  these  hallucinations  and  so  essential 
were  they  considered  to  be  to  true  religion,  that 
Wesley  wrote  in  1768  to  a  friend:  "The  giving  up 
of  witchcraft  is  in  effect  giving  up  the  Bible." 
Witches  were  judicially  burned  in  Mexico  as  late  as 

1873- 
Closely  allied  to  witchcraft  is  the  hallucination  of 

demonology  which  is  even  now  current  among  the 
masses  in  all  lands.  The  term  demon  is  of  Greek 
origin,  and  was  at  first  applied  to  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing. Later  it  was  used  to  designate  any  guardian 
divinity  that  was  supposed  to  preside  over  the  affairs 
of  men.  Socrates  is  said  to  have  been  attended  by 
such  a  being,  but  probably  all  he  meant  by  the 
"sign"  or  "voice"  that  controlled  his  action  was 
some  kind  of  a  divine  intimation.  Plato  undoubt- 
edly believed  in  the  real  existence  of  demons,  and 
he  expressly  says,  "intercourse  between  gods  and 
men  is  carried  on  by  demons."  Later,  demons  came 
to  be  regarded  as  evil  spirits  and  they  are  so  re- 
garded in  the  Scriptures.  Beelzebub  is  called  the 
prince  of  demons.  In  the  early  Christian  Church 
belief  in  demoniacal  possession  was  universal  and  it 
soon  became  an  important  dogma  that  every  child 
born  into  the  world  was  under  the  control  of  an  evil 
spirit.  Hence  arose  the  custom  of  using  a  formula 
of  exorcism  before  the  baptismal  formula,  as  the 
Roman  and  Greek  Churches  do  in  our  day. 

\  At  no  period  in  previous  history  was  the  sway  of 
hallucination  more  general  perhaps  than  at  the  time 
of  the  Reformation.  The  movement  headed  by 
Luther  made  the  discussion  of  religion  common  to 


Hallucinations  loi 

all.  Other  themes  were  forced  into  the  background 
and  nearly  every  mental  experience  was  regarded 
from  the  standpoint  of  its  relation  to  unseen  powers. 
Books  on  sorcery,  magic,  necromancy,  theosophy, 
and  all  forms  of  occult  philosophy  which  before  had 
been  printed  in  Latin  only  and  kept  for  the  learned, 
were  translated  into  the  vernacular  and  sent  broad- 
cast, so  that  "everybody,"  as  another  puts  it, 
"could  raise  the  devil  in  his  own  tongue."  In  our 
own  day  works  on  these  and  related  subjects  have 
greatly  multiplied  and  the  avidity  with  which  they 
are  purchased  and  discussed  is  one  of  the  extraordin- 
ary facts  of  history.  Beyond  all  doubt  they  have 
a  powerful  hold  upon  large  numbers  of  people 
even  in  the  most  highly  civilised  quarters  of  the 
globe. 

/As  the  teachings  of  modern  psychology  become 
better  known  these  misinterpretations  of  our  mental 
experiences  will  gradually  disappear.  For  a  correct 
conception  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  hallucinations 
points  out  the  way  for  their  detection  and  cure. 
Hallucinations  are  based  on  facts  just  as  truly  as  any 
of  our  other  experiences.  They  are  just  as  normal 
as  anything  else  in  our  experience.  They  are  simply 
misjudgments  as  to  what  certain  facts  signify.  At 
the  beginning  of  our  mental  life  nearly  all,  if  not  all, 
of  our  attempts  to  interpret  our  experiences  result 
in  misinterpretations.  We  have  to  learn  by  repeated 
failures  how  to  come  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  truth. 
It  is  only  by  long-continued  experience  and  observ- 
ation that  our  judgments  can  be  made  sufficiently 
reliable  even  for  the  needs  of  everyday  life.     At  our 


102     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

very  best,  all  our  dream  experiences  are  hallucina- 
tions and  almost  everybody  is  dreaming  to  some  ex- 
tent most  of  the  time  even  when  awake. 

/The  only  way  to  detect  hallucinations  and  sup- 
plant them  with  well-authenticated  facts  is  by  the 
cultivation  of  the  reasoning  powers.  Misinterpreta- 
tions can  be  set  aside  only  by  correct  interpretations 
and  correct  interpretations  depend  upon  good  judg- 
ment. One  of  the  prime  objects  of  education  is  to 
cultivate  the  power  of  judgment.  If  hallucinations 
dominate  the  whole  life,  if  the  judgment  and  will 
cannot  be  cultivated  so  as  to  keep  them  in  the  back- 
ground, the  condition  is  hopeless.  Either  the  being 
is  a  confirmed  lunatic  or  an  incorrigible  idiot.  The 
normal  healthy  development  of  all  our  powers,  both 
physical  and  mental,  but  especially  of  the  power  of 
correct  interpretation,  will  gradually  bring  us  to  just 
the  opposite  condition,  when  we  shall  see  things,  at 
least  far  more  clearly  than  we  now  do,  as  they  are. ) 


I 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  MIND  IN  SLEEP 

JT  is  surprising,  when  we  stop  to  reflect  upon  it, 
how  much  of  our  brief  sojourn  upon  this  planet 
is. devoted  to  sleep.  At  the  outset  of  our  existence 
almost  every  moment  is  spent  in  sleep,  and  at  the 
very  climax  of  our  powers  from  one  third  to  one 
half  of  our  time  must  be  given  up  to  it.  Dr.  Cyrus 
Edson  in  a  recent  paper  on  "The  Hygiene  of  Sleep" 
{TJie  Cosmopolitan,  October,  1900),  says  that 

"  the  infant  during  its  first  six  months  of  life  should  not 
sleep  less  than  about  twenty  hours;  this  period  should  be 
gradually  lessened  until  the  second  year  of  life  when  the 
time  for  sleep  should  be  about  seventeen  hours  daily. 
Between  the  second  and  third  years  the  sleeping  period 
may  be  gradually  lessened  to  fifteen  hours;  between  the 
third  and  fourth  years  to  fourteen  hours;  between 
the  fourth  and  sixth  years,  to  thirteen  hours;  between 
the  sixth  and  ninth,  to  twelve  hours;  between  the  ninth 
and  tenth  years,  to  ten  hours.  During  the  critical  period 
between  the  ages  of  thirteen  and  sixteen  at  least  ten 
hours  should  be  spent  in  sleep." 

Thus  we  see  that  it  is  only  after  adult  life  has  been 
fully  established  that  the  daily  sleeping  period  can 

103 


I04     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

safely  be  reduced  to  eight  or  nine  hours,  and  then 
only  during  the  continuance  of  a  good  degree  of 
general  healthfulness.  Let  any  real  injury  befall  the 
bodily  organism  and  we  immediately  revert  to  sleep. 
The  whole  structure  goes  to  pieces  if  we  do  not  give 
ourselves  up  to  it.  Even  a  slight  change  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  air,  a  monotonous  sound,  a  dull  sermon 
or  lecture,  may  at  any  time  induce  an  irresistible 
tendency  to  sleep. 

The  great  majority  of  the  lower  animals  are 
wrapped  in  sleep  most  of  the  time  and  not  much 
more  than  half  awake  the  rest  of  the  time.  No 
human  being  is  ever  absolutely  awake.  The  best 
one  can  do  is  to  vibrate  between  deep  sleep  and  high 
or  low  degrees  of  wakefulness.  If  we  had  to  decide 
the  question  as  to  which  was  the  normal  condition, 
sleep  or  wakefulness,  we  certainly  would  have  to  de- 
cide in  favour  of  sleep  as  regards  the  lower  animals, 
and  probably  as  regards  the  vast  majority  of  men. 
Some  think  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  hunger  we 
should  never  have  waked  up  at  all. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  every  human  being  from 
the  time  of  Adam  has  known  by  constant  experience 
what  sleep  is,  nobody  has  yet  been  able  to  explain 
it  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  The  best  informed 
physiologists  do  not  attempt  to  define  it.  They 
readily  admit  that  they  can  tell  us  but  little  about 
how  it  arises,  about  the  state  of  the  body  during  its 
continuance,  or  how  it  produces  its  various  effects. 

The  first  person  to  make  any  careful  researches 
into  the  condition  of  the  brain  during  sleep  was  Mr. 
Arthur   Durham.     In   i860  he  made  some  experi- 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  105 

ments  upon  a  dog,  which  throw  considerable  light 
upon  the  subject.  After  having  chloroformed  the 
animal  he  removed  a  portion  of  the  skull  about  the 
size  of  a  twenty-five-cent  piece.  He  then  inserted 
a  watch  crystal  into  the  opening  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  leave  a  considerable  portion  of  the  brain  ex- 
posed to  view.  He  found  that  when  the  dog  waked 
up  and  began  to  move  about,  the  veins  of  this  open- 
ing were  greatly  distended  with  blood  and  that  many 
veins  too  small  to  be  seen  when  the  dog  was  asleep 
became  distinctly  visible. 

From  this  experiment  Durham  very  naturally 
drew  the  conclusion  that  pressure  of  distended  veins 
upon  the  brain  is  not,  as  was  then  generally  sup- 
posed, the  cause  of  sleep ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
brain  in  sleep  is  in  a  comparatively  bloodless  con- 
dition, not  only  the  amount  of  blood  being  greatly 
diminished,  but  also  the  rapidity  of  its  circulation. 
Durham  also  found  that  the  amount  of  blood  in  the 
stomach  and  the  extremities  is  increased  during 
sleep,  and  he  established  the  position  that  under  all 
ordinary  conditions  whatever  tends  to  increase  the 
flow  of  blood  to  the  cerebrum  tends  to  increase 
wakefulness;  and  conversely,  whatever  tends  to 
lessen  the  activity  of  the  cerebral  circulation  tends 
to  induce  sleep. 

These  observations  of  Durham  have  been  abun- 
dantly confirmed  by  the  more  elaborate  experiments 
of  such  investigators  as  Dr.  W.  A.  Hammond,  Dr. 
Weir  Mitchell,  Ehrmann,  Frank,  Mosso,  and  others. 
Mosso's  experiments  were  made  upon 'a  woman 
thirty-seven  years  of  age,  a  man  about  as  old,  and 


io6     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

a  child  of  twelve  years,  all  of  whom  had  lost  by  acci- 
dent a  portion  of  the  cranium,  leaving  exposed  a 
soft  pulsating  cicatrix  or  scar.  Mosso  also  showed 
that  there  are  frequent  adjustments  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  blood  during  ordinary  sleep.  When  a 
strong  stimulus  was  applied  to  the  skin  or  to  any  of 
the  sense  organs  of  the  sleeper,  but  not  strong 
enough  to  awake  him,  the  flow  of  blood  to  the 
brain  was  increased  and  the  beating  of  the  heart 
materially  quickened.  All  of  these  positions  are 
corroborated  by  the  experiments  of  Dr.  J.  Hughling 
Jackson  on  the  condition  of  the  retina  during  sleep. 
By  the  use  of  the  ophthalmoscope  he  found  the 
optic  disk  to  be  whiter,  the  arteries  smaller,  and 
the  retina  generally  more  bloodless  in  sleep  than  in 
wakefulness. 

These  facts,  while  universally  admitted  by  physi- 
ologists, do  not  enable  them  to  answer  the  question 
why  a  bloodless  condition  of  the  brain  should  favour 
sleep.  The  experiments  made  by  Helmholtz  show 
that  the  amount  of  heat  produced  by  the  average 
person  when  asleep  is  about  one  third  of  the  amount 
produced  when  awake.  It  has  also  been  noted  that 
the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  eliminated  is  greatly 
reduced  in  sleep.  This  is  largely  accounted  for  by 
the  quiescent  condition  of  the  muscles  of  locomotion 
and  the  reduced  molecular  changes  in  the  tissues  of 
the  body  that  take  place  in  sleep.  It  is  easy  enough 
to  say  in  view  of  these  facts  that  the  cause  of  sleep 
is  the  exhaustion  of  the  nervous  system,  but  that 
does  not  shed  much  light  on  the  precise  changes 
which  result  in  the  apparent  loss  of  consciousness. 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  107 

Since  the  exertion  of  muscle  is  attended  by  the 
accumulation  of  certain  lactates  it  has  been  argued 
that  these  interfere  with  the  activity  of  the  nerves 
and  thus  produce  sleep.  But  experiment  has  shown 
that  their  injection  into  the  blood  does  not  induce 
sleep.  It  has  also  been  maintained  that  sleep  is 
due  to  a  lack  of  oxygen  in  the  brain.  When  we  are 
awake,  it  is  said,  the  vital  processes  soon  use  up  the 
supply  of  oxygen  and  the  grey  matter  of  the  brain 
suffers  collapse  in  consequence.  Sleep  is  thus  a 
sort  of  cerebral  asphyxiation.  There  may  be  some 
truth  in  this  view,  but  the  facts  are  as  yet  too  meagre 
to  justify  its  acceptance  as  the  true  one.  It  may  be 
that,  as  all  the  tissues  of  the  body  are  exhausted  by 
work,  all  parts  of  the  body  have  something  to  do 
with  the  phenomenon  of  sleep. 

All  admit  that  ordinary  sleep  is  attended  by  a 
diminished  activity  of  some  of  the  nerve-centres  of 
the  brain  and  of  the  spinal  cord.  The  centres  of  re- 
flex action  are  also  partially  inactive  and  even  those 
connected  with  the  processes  absolutely  essential  to 
life,  such  as  the  action  of  the  heart  and  lungs,  are 
more  or  less  in  repose  during  profound  sleep,  as  the 
experiments  of  Mosso  plainly  indicate. 

Periodicity  is  another  observed  fact  connected 
with  the  physiology  of  sleep.  Rest  alternates  with 
work  in  all  the  vital  processes.  Time  must  be  given 
for  the  renewal  of  the  energy  expended  in  wakeful- 
ness. Even  the  heart  rests  in  the  short  intervals 
between  its  individual  beats.  The  cells  in  a  secret- 
ing gland  have  regular  periods  of  comparative  inac- 
tion.    So  it  is  with  the  nervous  system  of  the  body. 


io8    Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Periods  of  sleep  naturally  alternate  every  twenty- 
four  hours  with  periods  of  wakefulness.  There  are 
of  course  occasional  exceptions  to  this  rule.  The 
Scottish  philosopher  Reid  was  able  for  a  long  period 
to  sleep  and  eat  enough  at  one  time  to  last  for  two 
days.  Nurses  often  work  continuously  for  weeks, 
taking  naps  of  only  two  or  three  hours  daily.  But 
sooner  or  later  nature  asserts  herself  and  a  long 
period  of  sleep  becomes  necessary  in  order  thor- 
oughly to  recuperate  the  waning  powers. 

There  are  also  numerous  cases  on  record  where 
sleep  has  been  prolonged  for  weeks  or  months. 
Blanchet,  a  French  physician,  tells  us  of  a  lady  aged 
twenty-four  years  who  had  slept  forty  consecutive 
days  when  she  was  eighteen  years  old,  fifty  days 
when  she  was  twenty  years  old,  and  from  Easter 
Sunday,  1862,  to  March,  1863,  nearly  an  entire 
year.  During  this  period  she  was  motionless  and 
insensible.  Her  pulse  was  low  and  her  breathing 
scarcely  perceptible.  Her  only  food  was  milk  and 
soup.  There  were  no  evacuations,  no  wasting  away, 
and  her  complexion  remained  florid  and  healthy 
during  the  whole  period.  But  this  was  a  case  of 
coma  and  not  of  ordinary  sleep.  Equally  striking 
instances  have  occurred  of  prolonged  wakefulness. 

The  occurrence  of  sleep  at  night  is  more  largely  a 
matter  of  convenience  and  habit  than  of  necessity. 
The  darkness  and  stillness  of  night  favour  sleep,  but 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  vital  connection  be- 
tween the  diurnal  changes  of  day  and  night  and  the 
changes  in  the  nervous  energy  of  the  body.  Many 
of  the  lower  animals  habitually  sleep  during  the  day 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  109 

and  search  for  their  food  during  the  night.  Many 
hibernate  for  months  at  a  time  during  the  winter, 
and  persons  whose  occupations  necessitate  that  they 
should  work  at  night  and  sleep  by  day  easily  adapt 
themselves  to  the  requirement. 

>  Cabanis  has  attempted  to  show  that  there  is  a 
natural  and  regular  order  in  which  our  senses  fall 
asleep.  First,  the  sight  becomes  quiescent,  he  says, 
and  then  the  sense  of  taste.  After  that  the  sense  of 
smell  and  the  sense  of  hearing.  Last  of  all  the 
sense  of  touch.  The  order  of  awaking  is  not  ac- 
cording to  him  the  reverse  of  this  order.  For  while 
the  touch  is  most  easily  aroused,  at  least  at  the  more 
sensitive  parts  of  the  body,  the  hearing  comes  next 
in  order  and  the  sight  third,  the  senses  of  taste  and 
smell  coming  the  very  last.  More  careful  observa- 
tions greatly  modify  this  view.  It  is  probable  that 
no  two  times  of  going  to  sleep  or  of  awaking  are 
precisely  alike  in  any  individual.  The  senses  un- 
doubtedly fall  asleep  at  different  times  in  different 
degrees  and  awake  in  unlike  proportions.  One 
sense  may  fall  asleep  while  all  the  others  are  active 
and  several  senses  may  be  asleep  while  one  alone  is 
performing  its  usual  functions.  Soldiers  often  sleep 
on  the  line  of  march  in  all  their  powers  except  the 
muscles  of  the  leg  which  still  keep  up  the  required 
movement.  Sailors  sleep  clinging  to  the  rigging  in 
a  similar  manner.  Sir  William  Hamilton  vouches 
for  the  fact  that  when  he  was  a  student  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Halle  a  postman  there  who  carried  the 
mail  to  a  village  some  eight  miles  distant  used  to  go 
to  sleep  after  leaving  Halle,  keeping  the  right  road 


no     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

and  waking  up  at  the  little  bridge  he  had  to  cross 
just  before  reaching  the  end  of  his  journey.  It  is 
said  of  Sir  Edward  Codrington  that  when  he  was 
serving  as  a  signal-lieutenant  under  Lord  Hood  no 
amount  of  shouting  or  beating  upon  drums  would 
arouse  him  when  asleep,  but  if  the  word  "signal  " 
was  even  whispered  in  his  ear  he  would  start  up  at 
once  and  immediately  be  ready  for  duty.  Erasmus 
tells  us  that  his  friend  Professor  Oporinus  of  Basel 
once  took  a  long  journey  with  a  distinguished  book- 
seller, and  just  before  they  reached  the  inn  where 
they  were  to  pass  the  night  an  old  manuscript  in 
Sanskrit  was  found  that  so  greatly  interested  the 
bookseller  that  he  persuaded  Oporinus  to  sit  up 
and  read  it  to  him.  The  result  was  that  the  Pro- 
fessor fell  asleep  as  to  all  his  other  powers,  but  kept 
on  reading  for  a  long  time,  not  knowing,  when  he 
awoke,  anything  about  what  he  had  been  doing. 
Noah  Porter  vouches  for  the  fact  that  there  are 
many  persons  who  "can  find  refreshment  in  sleep 
when  reading  or  conversation  is  going  on,  and  be 
able  to  recite  when  awake  what  has  been  read  or 
spoken  while  they  were  sleeping." 
■^'  Such  being  some  of  the  facts  concerning  the  phy- 
siology of  sleep  we  are  now  prepared  to  consider  the 
condition  of  the  mind  in  sleep.  And  the  first  thing 
we  note  is  that  there  is  abundance  of  evidence  for 
holding  that  all  the  higher  animals  dream  in  sleep. 
Dogs  show  this  by  growling  and  barking  in  their 
sleep.  Cows  and  sheep  dream,  especially  while 
rearing  their  young.  Bechstein  tells  us  of  the  dream 
of  a  bullfinch  which  took  on  the  character  of  a  night- 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  iii 

mare,  the  bird  falling  from  its  perch.  Canary  birds 
sometimes  faintly  repeat  their  songs  in  their  sleep 
and  parrots  have  often  been  observed  to  rise  on  their 
perches  in  the  night  and  prattle,  though  not  half 
awake.  These  facts  were  observed  by  the  ancients. 
Aristotle  admitted  that  horses,  oxen,  sheep,  goats, 
dogs,  and  all  viviparous  quadrupeds  dream,  but  he 
had  some  doubts  as  to  whether  animals  that  lay  eggs 
instead  of  producing  their  offspring  alive  do  so. 
Darwin  has  no  hesitation  in  saying  in  his  Descent  of 
Man  that  "  dogs,  cats,  horses,  and  probably  all  the 
higher  animals,  even  birds,  as  is  stated  on  good  au- 
thority, have  vivid  dreams,  and  this  is  shown  by  their 
movements  and  voice."  Romanes  freely  expresses 
the  same  opinion  in  his  Mental  Evolution  in  Animals 
and  gives  many  references  to  special  investigators  in 
its  support. 

That  all  men  dream  there  can  be  no  question ;  we 
only  need  to  refer  to  our  daily  experience  in  con- 
firmation of  the  fact.  But  it  is  also  probably  true 
that  there  is  no  such  thing,  in  man  at  least,  as  dream- 
less sleep.  It  has  been  argued  that  all  dreams  occur 
just  before  going  to  sleep  or  just  before  waking. 
This  may  be  true  of  our  most  vivid  dreams,  but  it 
may  easily  be  disproved  of  all  dreaming  by  noting 
the  successive  changes  of  expression  that  are  often 
visible  in  the  countenances  of  the  dreamers,  and  the 
more  or  less  coherent  talking  that  frequently  takes 
place  in  sleep.  In  order  to  settle  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  mind  is  always  active  to  some  degree  in 
sleep,  Sir  William  Hamilton  submitted  himself  to  a 
number  of  experiments.     It  was  always  found  that 


112     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

when  he  was  suddenly  aroused  from  deep  sleep  he 
was  dreaming,  but  what  he  was  dreaming  about  was 
not  always  equally  vivid.  When  aroused  just  as  he 
was  going  to  sleep  he  always  found  himself  dream- 
ing, and  on  reflection  could  trace  his  thoughts  back 
to  some  external  perception.  The  same  results  were 
obtained  in  experiments  upon  Professor  Calderwood 
of  Glasgow  University,  and  would  probably  be  con- 
firmed in  every  other  case  where  the  person  experi- 
mented upon  had  sufficient  power  of  concentration 
to  note  carefully  and  describe  what  he  experienced. 
We  have  already  seen  from  the  experiments  of  Mosso 
that  the  brain  is  never  wholly  inactive  in  sleep. 
Changes  in  the  distribution  of  the  blood  are  con- 
stantly taking  place.  It  is  also  to  be  remembered 
that  even  if  all  the  other  senses  were  quiescent  the 
entire  surface  of  the  skin  is  always  sending  impres- 
sions to  the  brain  in  the  profoundest  sleep.  Thieves 
in  India  make  constant  use  of  this  fact. 

It  has  always  been  observed  that  as  a  rule  we 
quickly  forget  our  dreams.  One  of  the  reasons  why 
we  do  this  is  that  the  act  of  awaking  causes  our 
dream  thoughts  to  dissipate  and  our  perceptions  of 
the  real  objects  by  which  we  are  constantly  sur- 
rounded when  we  wake  up  is  so  much  more  vivid 
that  the  experiences  of  sleep  are  soon  obliterated. 
How  much  would  we  remember  of  our  thoughts  by 
day  if  we  should  lie  still  all  the  time  on  a  sofa  with 
our  ears  stopped  up  and  our  eyes  covered  with  a 
bandage?  How  many  of  us  remember  with  distinct- 
ness more  than  a  fraction  of  what  passes  through 
our  minds  in  a  single  hour  even  when  we  are  most 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  113 

completely  in  conscious  possession  of  our  powers? 
That  the  mind  constantly  dreams  in  sleep,  of  course 
with  varying  degrees  of  intensity,  is  now  admitted 
by  most  modern  psychologists  except  those  who 
hold  that  mental  activity  in  all  its  forms  is  nothing 
but  a  passing  phase  of  matter.  This  position  is  also 
confirmed  by  the  teachings  of  a  sound  philosophy 
and  it  has  been  taught  by  the  best  thinkers  from  the 
time  of  Plato  down  to  our  own  day.  It  is  especially 
corroborated  by  modern  scientific  evolution,  which 
teaches  that  just  as  sleep  is  the  normal  condition  of 
all  organisms  and  out  of  it  come  degrees  of  wakeful- 
ness, so  dreaming  is  the  normal  condition  of  all 
minds  and  out  of  dreams  are  gradually  evolved  by 
some  of  the  highest  organisms  definite  thoughts. 

Assuming  then  that  to  sleep  is  to  dream,  the  defin- 
ite problem  we  have  before  us  is  simply  this :  What 
is  the  condition  of  the  mind  in  dreams.-'  And  in  the 
first  place  we  observe  that  we  are  always  limited  to 
the  materials  of  our  past  experience  in  our  dreams. 
In  other  words,  we  never  dream  about  anything 
the  elements  of  which  have  not  in  some  way  come 
within  the  realm  of  our  past  observation.  That  a 
person  born  blind  never  dreams  of  seeing  is  well 
established  by  competent  investigators.  Hundreds 
of  cases  were  examined  not  long  ago  by  Professor 
Jastrow  in  the  asylums  for  the  blind  in  and  about 
Philadelphia,  and  in  no  instance  was  a  person  found 
blind  from  his  birth  who  even  in  a  dream  believed 
that  he  saw.  G.  Stanley  Hall  says  of  the  famous 
blind  and  deaf-mute  Laura  Bridgman :  "Sight  and 
hearing  are  as  absent  from  her  dreams  as  they  are 

8 


114     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

from  the  dark  and  silent  world  which  alone  she 
knows,"  The  same  thing  is  probably  true  of 
Helen  Keller.  Many  have  undertaken  to  collect 
evidence  concerning  the  dreams  of  persons  born 
deaf,  and  all  agree  that  they  never  dream  about 
hearing,  although  they  do  sometimes  dream  about 
experiencing  vibrations  such  as  would  come  through 
the  organism  as  a  whole  from  the  firing  of  a  cannon, 
or  the  loud  beating  of  a  drum. 

There  is  no  exception  to  the  rule  that  our  dreams 
are  always  made  up  of  those  things  that  we  have 
had  something  to  do  with  in  our  past  experience. 
This  experience  may  long  ago  have  faded  out  of  our 
conscious  memory,  or  may  have  been  so  slight  as 
not  to  have  been  definitely  remembered  by  the  con- 
scious ego  at  all ;  it  may  perhaps  consist  of  traces 
left  upon  the  brain  by  the  deeds  of  our  ancestors 
now  many  generations  remote.  But  in  some  way 
or  other  it  sets  a  limit  to  our  mental  activity  beyond 
which  we  cannot  pass. 

One  of  the  most  striking  peculiarities  of  the  action 
of  the  mind  in  sleep  is  the  little  attention  it  pays  to 
the  relations  of  time  and  space.  Dr.  Carpenter  in 
speaking  of  the  condition  of  the  mind  in  dreams 
well  says:  "All  probabilities  of  time,  place,  and 
circumstance  are  violated ;  the  dead  pass  before  us 
as  if  alive  and  well ;  even  the  sages  of  antiquity  hold 
personal  converse  with  us ;  our  friends  upon  the 
antipodes  are  brought  upon  the  scene,  or  we  our- 
selves are  conveyed  thither  without  the  least  percep- 
tion of  the  intervening  distance." 

The  number  of  scenes  that  may  pass  through  the 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  115 

mind  of  the  dreamer  in  almost  an  instant  is  so  large 
as  to  be  well-nigh  incapable  of  calculation.  Count 
Lavalette  tells  us  that  one  night,  when  he  was  im- 
prisoned under  sentence  of  death,  he  dreamed  that 
he  stood  for  five  hours,  at  the  corner  of  one  of  the 
streets  of  Paris,  and  witnessed  a  continuous  succes- 
sion of  harrowing  scenes  of  blood,  every  moment  of 
the  time  teeming  with  excited  feeling.  In  reality  he 
was  asleep  less  than  two  minutes.  Many  other 
cases  have  been  recorded  where  a  succession  of 
events  has  passed  through  the  mind  of  the  dreamer 
and  been  regarded  as  years  in  transpiring,  which 
must  have  been  dreamed  about  in  only  a  few  seconds. 
The  nearest  analogy  to  this  state  in  wakefulness  is 
when  one  becomes  aware  that  he  is  tottering  on  the 
brink  of  a  precipice,  or  going  down  under  the  water 
for  the  last  time.  All  the  events  of  a  lifetime  seem 
at  such  a  moment  to  present  themselves  to  view. 
This  lack  of  proper  appreciation  of  time  and  space 
in  dreams  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  senses 
are  not  sending  in  their  reports  one  after  another 
in  their  usual  manner,  and  the  movements  of  ex- 
ternal objects  by  which  we  are  helped  to  measure 
time  are  not  being  attended  to.  The  mind  is  ab- 
sorbed in  combining  together  the  images  and  ideas 
which  memory  furnishes  it  out  of  the  experiences  of 
the  past. 

This  leads  us  to  observe  that  of  all  our  mental 
powers  fancy  has  the  fullest  play  in  sleep.  Fancy 
is  the  mind's  power  for  putting  together  past  acquis- 
itions into  all  sorts  of  haphazard  relations  without 
reference  to  any  definite  plan  or  purpose,  and  this 


ii6     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

is  the  usual  character  of  the  products  of  our  dreams. 
In  this  state  or  condition  the  mental  energy  is 
literally  spent  in  giving  to  airy  nothingness  a  local 
habitation  and  a  name.  People  change  their  age, 
their  sex,  their  country,  their  occupation,  perhaps 
in  one  and  the  same  dream,  without  thinking  at  all 
of  the  gross  inconsistencies  in  the  case,  regarding  it 
all  merely  as  a  matter  of  course.  One  observer  tells 
us  of  a  young  lady  who  dreamed  of  seeing  herself  in 
her  cofifin  and  of  listening  to  the  observations  of  the 
mourners  without  any  astonishment  at  finding  her- 
self dead,  or  after  having  died  being  able  to  hear. 
Nor  was  she  surprised  in  her  dream  when  she  arose 
after  the  funeral  was  over  and  betook  herself  to  her 
ordinary  pursuits. 

We  accept  in  our  dreams  any  incongruity  as  actual 
until  we  wake  up  and  our  better  judgment  shows  us 
our  mistake.  Children  and  undeveloped  adults  live 
almost  wholly  in  the  realm  of  fancy;  and  for  this 
reason  they  often  have  great  difficulty  in  deciding 
whether  a  thing  they  are  recalling  actually  occurred, 
or  they  only  dreamed  it.  Old  people  often  relapse 
into  this  condition.  Cicero  {De  Divinationc,  59)  re- 
marks that  if  it  were  a  law  of  nature  that  we  should 
actually  do  in  sleep  all  that  we  dream  of  doing  every 
person  would  have  to  be  tied  to  the  bed  before  go- 
ing to  sleep.  When  sleep  takes  on  the  form  of  a 
nightmare  the  fancy  runs  riot  over  its  products. 
The  sensation  of  pressure  upon  the  chest  which 
usually  accompanies  this  variety  of  dreaming  gives 
rise  to  the  most  grotesque  ideas.  A  Washington 
monument  or  a  Brooklyn  bridge  is  thought  of  as 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  117 

resting  upon  the  body  making  all  movement  or 
resistance  impossible.  Hence  the  cries  of  agonis- 
ing distress.  Only  when  the  body  is  in  some  way 
aroused  out  of  its  lethargy  will  the  mind  give  up  its 
wild  fancies  for  actual  facts. 

Another  variety  of  dreaming  is  natural  somnam- 
bulism in  which  the  attempt  is  made  to  act  out  the 
dream.  The  term  sleep-walking  is  applied  to  this 
form  of  activity  because  the  act  of  walking  in  sleep 
attracts  the  more  attention  and  excites  the  more 
alarm ;  but  the  term  represents  many  other  forms  of 
activity  in  sleep,  such  as  talking,  singing,  writing, 
playing  on  musical  instruments,  and  the  like.  In 
somnambulism  some  of  the  senses  are  probably  act- 
ing with  surprising  energy.  Sometimes  the  sight  is 
uncommonly  acute  and  objects  are  distinctly  seen 
in  a  light  so  faint  as  to  be  otherwise  invisible. 
Occasionally  the  touch  may  be  excited  to  a  de- 
gree unknown  in  wakefulness,  enabling  one  to  per- 
form extraordinary  feats  that  he  would  not  dare 
to  attempt  under  other  conditions.  Sometimes  the 
senses  of  smell  and  hearing  are  abnormally  acute. 
Whatever  sense  is  dominant,  the  dreamer  makes  its 
perceptions  fit  in  with  the  phantasms  of  his  dreams. 
Occasionally  there  results  a  highly  rational  product, 
though  probably  not  much  oftener  than  the  law  of 
chances  would  lead  us  to  expect.  As  in  all  dreams 
the  fancy  is  uppermost  its  products  are  regarded  as 
realities  and  the  whole  being  is  thus  put  into  strange 
and  unnatural  relations  to  the  world  of  sense.  If 
this  state  of  mind  becomes  persistent  instead  of 
transient,  the  result  is  insanity,  which  in  many  of  its 


ii8     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

forms  may  be  correctly  described  as  a  prolonged 
dream. 

Another  peculiarity  about  the  mind  in  sleep  is 
that  the  higher  powers  of  imagination  and  reasoning 
are  generally  quiescent.  There  is  rarely  any  inven- 
tion in  sleep.  The  mental  energy  being  feeble  in 
this  condition,  the  mind  easily  exhausts  itself  in 
random  associations  of  its  material  and  does  not 
have  strength  enough  left  to  attempt  to  put  things 
together  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  thought.  In- 
asmuch as  the  products  of  the  fancy  are  regarded  as 
realities,  no  motive  exists  for  attempting  to  recon- 
struct them  and  to  separate  the  actual  from  the 
fantastic  by  comparing  them  with  the  permanent 
objects  of  actual  life.  The  imagination  is  such  a 
noble  power  of  the  mind  that  it  requires  all  the  condi- 
tions of  wakefulness  to  create  its  ideals.  Few  per- 
sons, comparatively,  even  when  quite  wide  awake, 
bring  this  faculty  often  into  play.  It  is  the  chief 
organ  of  artists,  poets,  scientists,  and  philosophers, 
and  their  creations  if  worthy  of  the  name  are  not 
those  that  spontaneously  evolve  themselves  out 
of  the  conditions  of  a  dream.  Even  so  it  is  with 
the  reasoning  power.  It  can  do  nothing  without  the 
imagination.  If  the  latter  is  absent  or  weak  the 
former  will  be  also. 

While  it  is  generally  believed  that  most  dreams 
come  and  go  without  involving  any  highly  intellect- 
ual process,  there  are  some  apparent  exceptions  to 
this  rule.  Condorcet  tells  us  that  he  saw  in  a  dream 
the  final  steps  of  a  difficult  calculation  which  had 
greatly  puzzled  him  during  the  day.     Condillac  says 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  119 

he  often  finished  In  his  sleep  the  treatment  of  sub- 
jects he  had  started  just  before  retiring  to  rest. 
Coleridge  describes  in  detail  how  he  composed  the 
Kiibla  Khan  in  a  dream,  and  Tartini  is  said  to  have 
written  his  DcviVs  Sonata  from  materials  that  came 
to  him  in  a  dream,  when  the  Devil  appeared  to  him 
in  person  and  challenged  him  to  a  test  of  his  skill  by- 
first  giving  an  exhibition  of  his  own  musical  powers. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  according  to  Cabanis,  often 
thought  out  in  sleep  the  bearing  of  political  events 
that  baffled  him  when  awake. 

In  all  these  cases  it  is  probable  that  the  dreaming, 
as  Wundt  expresses  it,  "is  dovetailed  in  with  wak- 
ing." That  is,  it  occurred  just  before  falling  asleep, 
or  while  in  the  process  of  waking,  the  powers  as 
soon  as  they  are  relieved  of  external  distractions,  or 
when  greatly  refreshed  after  slumber,  doing  easily 
and  quickly  what  before  demanded  prolonged  and 
perhaps  painful  effort.  It  is  probable  that  the  same 
conditions  prevail  when  we  dream  that  we  are  dream- 
ing,— a  thing  that  occasionally  happens.  We  are 
really  half-way  between  actual  sleep  and  ordinary 
wakefulness. 

We  have  intentionally  excluded  here  the  famous 
dream  of  Scipio  that  we  find  so  beautifully  described 
in  one  of  Cicero's  chief  writings  {Dc  Divhiatione). 
For,  like  so  many  similar  productions,  it  was  prob- 
ably not  a  dream  at  all.  As  one  of  the  creations  of 
Cicero  depicting  what  a  dream  might  be,  it  is  worthy 
of  his  best  effort.  For  lofty  imagination  and  high 
thought  he  rarely  surpassed  it  in  the  very  climax  of 
his  powers. 


I20     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Another  observed  fact  about  the  mind  in  sleep  is 
the  almost  complete  absence  of  self-consciousness. 
The  idea  rarely  comes  to  a  dreamer  that  this  is  my 
thought  or  my  feeling.  Time  is  required  in  order 
to  make  this  discrimination  and  the  uprush  of 
images  in  sleep  is  usually  too  rapid  for  one  to  think 
of  himself.  The  entire  energy  is  concentrated  upon 
the  kaleidoscopic  changes  that  fancy  is  constantly 
unrolling  for  inspection.  There  is  no  time  to  reflect 
and  hence  no  opportunity  for  a  distinct  apprehen- 
sion of  one's  states  as  the  states  or  experiences  of 
an  individual  ego. 

But  perhaps  the  most  noticeable  thing  about  the 
condition  of  the  mind  in  sleep  is  the  almost  com- 
plete suspension  of  free  will.  To  such  an  extent  is 
this  the  chief  feature  of  dreaming  that  it  is  com- 
monly defined  as  "an  absence  of  voluntary  control 
over  the  current  of  thought."  Of  course  we  are  not 
asserting  here  that  there  is  a  suspension  of  all  will  in 
dreams.  For  we  strive  to  express  our  ideas  in  sleep 
as  truly  as  in  wakefulness.  When  we  dream  of 
talking  we  actually  do  talk  to  some  degree ;  when  we 
dream  of  singing  we  sing  to  some  degree ;  when  we 
dream  of  running  we  run  with  some  degree  of 
rapidity.  In  other  words,  every  thought  in  sleep  or 
wakefulness  is  always  attended  in  some  degree  by 
its  corresponding  muscular  action.  It  was  not  this 
general  capacity  for  action  which  everybody  recog- 
nises as  always  present  in  dreams,  but  the  capacity 
to  direct  our  activities  according  to  a  rational  pur- 
pose that  Dugald  Stewart  had  in  mind  when  he  as- 
serted that  "the  circumstances  which  discriminate 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  121 

dreaming  from  our  wakeful  thoughts  are  such  as 
must  necessarily  arise  from  the  suspension  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  will." 

He  is  probably  wrong,  however,  in  holding  that 
the  suspension  of  the  will  is  the  cause  of  dreaming. 
It  is  rather  one  of  the  effects  of  sleep.  When  the 
vital  and  sensational  activities  predominate,  as  they 
necessarily  do  in  sleep,  the  higher  mental  processes 
are  kept  in  the  background,  if  not  shut  out  alto- 
gether. This  is  especially  true  of  the  higher  act  of 
will.  Voluntary  attention,  instead  of  dominating 
the  images  that  pour  in  upon  the  mind  in  dreams,  is 
dominated  by  them.  There  is  no  chance  for  rational 
control.  This  is  the  chief  reason  why  we  regard  our 
dreams  as  realities.  We  take  what  we  experience 
just  as  it  is  given  without  being  able  to  stop  the  flow 
of  images  long  enough  to  compare  them  with  those 
arising  from  our  contact  with  the  more  permanent 
objects  of  the  external  world. 

Here  we  see  also  why  there  is  an  absence  of  moral 
responsibility  in  our  dreams.  Responsibility  in- 
volves choice.  But  where  free  will  is  lacking  there 
can  be  no  choice.  Furthermore  in  dreams,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  the  conditions  of  a  sound  judg- 
ment on  any  subject  are  wanting.  Not  only  is  the 
relation  of  the  mind  to  the  external  world  constantly 
shifting  and  full  of  incongruities,  but  no  clear  con- 
nection is  made  by  the  mind  with  its  own  acts  or 
states.  In  this  chaos  of  ideas  and  feelings  right 
judgments  are  impossible.  No  opportunity  is  pre- 
sent for  determining  what  we  ought  to  do  or  to  be. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  conscience  does  not  trouble 


122     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

us  in  our  dreams,  although  when  we  awake  we  may 
be  filled  with  the  deepest  shame  and  mortification 
at  the  recollection  of  our  conduct.  As  another  has 
well  said  :  "We  commit  in  dreams  acts  for  which  we 
should  weep  tears  of  blood  if  they  were  real,  and 
yet  never  feel  the  slightest  remorse.  The  familiar 
check  of  waking  hours,  '  I  must  not  do  it  because  it 
would  be  unjust  or  unkind,'  never  once  seems  to 
arrest  us  in  the  satisfaction  of  any  whim  which  may 
blow  about  our  wayward  fancies." 

A  word  as  to  the  vividness  of  dreams.  It  is  now 
generally  admitted  by  physiologists  that  the  brain 
as  a  whole  is  peculiarly  excitable  in  sleep.  While  it 
is  not  open  to  so  many  impressions  as  in  wakeful- 
ness, it  responds  with  greater  intensity  of  action  to 
the  few  it  does  receive.  This  helps  to  account  for 
the  preternatural  vividness  that  often  attends  our 
dream-life.  A  slight  external  or  internal  stimulus 
may  arouse  the  mind  to  grossly  exaggerated  states 
of  thought  or  feeling.  Dr.  Maury  when  having  his 
assistant  tickle  his  lips  in  sleep  dreamed  of  suffering 
most  horrible  facial  tortures.  The  same  results  at- 
tended his  experiments  upon  the  sense  of  hearing, 
taste,  and  smell.  Dr.  Gregory  dreamed  of  walking 
up  Mount  Etna  suffering  intensely  from  the  heat  by 
having  a  bottle  of  hot  water  applied  to  his  feet. 
Dr.  Reid  having  had  a  blister  applied  to  his  feet 
dreamed  of  being  scalped  by  the  Indians.  Aristotle 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  people  can  be  made 
to  dream  of  thunderstorms  by  simply  making  a  slight 
noise  in  their  ears  when  asleep.  The  extremely 
vivid   visual    images,  or    schlummerbilder,  seen    by 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  123 

Julius  Miiller,  Goethe,  and  others  are  probably  to  be 
accounted  for  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  vividness  that  is  sometimes  given  to  our 
dreams  may  help  us  to  understand  why  dreams  have 
always  had  so  much  to  do  with  religion.  Anthropo- 
logists are  now  generally  agreed  that  young  children 
and  savages  make  no  distinction  between  their  dream 
experiences  and  those  of  wakefulness.  The  former  is 
as  real  to  them  as  the  latter.  The  persons  and  objects 
that  appear  to  them  in  dreams  are  just  as  truly  to  be 
accounted  for  as  those  they  come  in  contact  with  when 
awake.  But  as  they  know  the  difference  between 
being  awake  and  being  asleep  they  naturally  come 
to  think  of  the  world  they  visit  in  sleep  as  separated 
in  some  degree  from  the  world  of  waking  life.  Thus 
arises  very  quickly  the  idea  of  a  world  of  supernatural 
spirits  with  whom  they  are  in  more  or  less  intimate 
relations.  Hence  the  view  held  by  all  primitive  races 
of  the  supernatural  origin  of  dreams,  a  view  which 
continues  even  when  they  have  in  many  ways  reached 
a  considerable  degree  of  intellectual  development. 

It  was  universally  believed  in  ancient  times  that 
in  dreams  divine  beings  revealed  their  will,  or  some 
facts  past  or  future  that  would  be  of  great  practical 
moment  for  mortals  to  know.  Sometimes  a  mes- 
senger or  angel  came  to  the  dreamer  and  announced 
the  message.  Sometimes  the  message  was  heard  as 
if  uttered  by  an  external  voice.  On  other  occasions 
a  vision  of  it  was  caused  to  pass  before  the  dreamer, 
not  always  as  distinctly  objective  but  as  something 
mysteriously  impressed  upon  his  mind.  The  oldest 
books    in    the   world   contain    many    references   to 


124     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

dreams  and  constantly  refer  to  this  conception  of 
their  origin.  Homer  distinctly  declares  that  dreams 
are  sent  by  the  gods  and  goddesses  and  sometimes 
it  would  seem  with  a  purpose  to  deceive.  All  the 
great  men  described  by  Herodotus  believed  that 
dreams  were  of  supernatural  origin.  Socrates  and 
Plato  believed  in  such  dreams  and  Aristotle  thought 
they  might  occur.  Such  was  the  view  of  the  ancient 
Romans.  ' '  In  the  De  Divinatione  of  Cicero, ' '  says  a 
high  authority,  "we  have  almost  an  unique  instance 
among  classic  writers  of  a  complete  rejection  of  the 
supernatural  origin  of  dreams."  Cambyses  assas- 
sinated his  brother  because  of  a  warning  he  thought 
he  received  in  a  dream,  and  Xerxes  invaded  Greece 
for  similar  reasons.  The  ancient  Hebrews  no  less 
than  others  regarded  dreams  as  the  vehicle  of  divine 
communications.  The  divine  origin  of  dreams  be- 
came in  the  time  of  the  Fathers  a  doctrine  of  the 
Christian  Church.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  under  influ- 
ences partly  Christian  and  partly  pagan,  dreams  came 
to  be  referred  to  a  great  variety  of  supernatural 
agencies,  not  only  God  and  the  Devil,  but  fairies, 
fiends,  and  the  like  being  the  originators  of  dreams. 
Elaborate  rules  were  developed  among  all  the  an- 
cients for  the  interpretation  of  dreams,  and  those 
who  became  expert  in  the  art  were  called  prophets, 
divinators,  or  magicians.  Among  the  Egyptians  and 
Babylonians  those  who  were  appointed  to  interpret 
the  dreams  of  the  monarch  were  among  the  most 
important  officers  of  state. 

It  is  probable  that  physicians  were  the  first  to 
suspect  the  true  view  of  the  origin  and  nature  of 


The  Mind  in  Sleep  125 

dreams,  through  their  study  of  the  pathological  con- 
ditions of  the  body.  The  Greek  Hippocrates  in  the 
fifth  century  B.C.,  while  recognising  that  some 
dreams  may  be  divine,  clearly  attributes  the  mass  of 
them  to  the  influences  of  the  mind  upon  the  body. 
He  was  probably  the  first  to  point  out  that  some 
dreams  announce  beforehand  the  conditions  of  the 
body, — a  fact  that  physicians  now  include  among 
the  symptoms  in  making  a  complete  diagnosis  of  a 
disease.  For  it  is  now  a  well-recognised  fact  that 
the  state  of  the  teeth,  the  stomach,  the  heart,  the 
lungs,  and  other  internal  organs  greatly  affects  the 
character  of  our  dreams. 

Modern  psychologists  and  physiologists  are  now 
agreed  that  the  phenomena  of  dreams  are  dependent 
on  natural  causes.  All  mental  and  physical  events, 
while  in  no  way  similar,  are  so  related  that  the  ex- 
istence of  the  one  conditions  the  existence  of  the 
other.  Dreams  are  no  exception  to  this  rule.  They 
have  their  origin  in  the  same  laws  of  mind  and  mat- 
ter as  hold  true  in  wakeful  life.  Nearly  all  organisms 
spend  most  of  their  mental  energy  in  dreaming,  just 
as  they  spend  most  of  their  physical  energy  in  sleep 
or  low  degrees  of  wakefulness.  While  it  may  be 
said  of  every  thinker  that  "there  are  more  things  in 
heaven  and  earth,  Horatio,  than  are  dreamed  of  in 
your  philosophy,"  it  is  still  true  that  dreams  furnish 
the  first  materials  of  human  knowledge.  It  is  only 
by  passing  through  the  sleep  and  dream  stage  of 
development  that  we  can  rise  to  the  exercise  of  the 
higher  powers  of  the  mind, — especially  imagination, 
self-consciousness,  and  free  will. 


126    Psychology  and  Common  Life 

All  great  minds,  as  a  rule,  spend  less  time  in  sleep 
than  persons  of  inferior  power.  Napoleon  rarely 
slept  over  four  or  five  hours  out  of  twenty-four,  un- 
less he  was  meeting  with  reverses.  After  the  battle 
of  Aspern,  his  first  defeat  after  seventeen  victories, 
he  is  said  to  have  slept  continuously  for  thirty-six 
hours,  to  the  great  alarm  of  his  friends.  Goethe  did 
not  sleep  as  long  as  most  men,  nor  did  Humboldt, 
or  Mirabeau.  Jesus,  from  all  we  know  about  him, 
spent  little  time  in  sleep. 

The  abuse  of  sleep  is  just  as  possible  and  perhaps 
just  as  common  as  the  abuse  of  alcohol.  The  peo- 
ple are  few  of  whom  it  cannot  be  truthfully  said  that 
"now  it  is  high  time  to  awake  out  of  sleep."  Dr. 
Edson  tells  us  that  "it  is  erroneous  to  suppose  that 
old  age  requires  a  greater  period  of  sleep  than 
adolescence  or  middle  life."  The  tendency  to 
drowsiness  and  dreaming  so  frequently  noticed  in 
elderly  people,  he  thinks,  should  be  combated  rather 
than  encouraged,  as  it  hastens  unnecessarily  their 
physical  and  mental  degeneration. 

The  more  perfect  the  development  of  the  brain, 
the  more  complete  its  adaptation  to  its  environment, 
the  less  the  friction  and  waste  attending  its  exercise, 
and  consequently  the  less  sleep.  Civilisation  is  the 
progress  from  sleep  to  wakefulness.  The  highest 
culture  of  which  any  human  being  is  capable  will  be 
reached  when  the  sleep  and  dream  period  is  reduced 
to  the  minimum  and  the  nobler  activities  of  the  soul 
are  brought  to  the  maximum  of  their  efificiency  and 
power. 


CHAPTER   VI 

HYPNOTISM,    ITS    HISTORY    AND    PRESENT    STATUS 

HYPNOTISM,  as  the  word  itself  literally  signifies, 
is  the  state  or  condition  of  being  lulled  to 
sleep.  In  one  form  or  another  it  has  existed  in  all 
ages,  even  from  the  time  when  the  first  mother 
soothed  her  tired  babe  to  rest  by  oft-repeated  pats 
and  the  humming  of  some  monotonous  lullaby. 

Very  early  in  history  certain  persons  who  showed 
great  facility  in  passing  into  this  state  came  to  be 
regarded  as  inspired,  and  what  they  said  in  this  con- 
dition was  looked  upon  as  the  utterance  of  a  god. 
In  ancient  Egypt  large  numbers  of  women  and  child- 
ren at  certain  great  annual  festivals  often  passed 
into  this  state  and  then  it  was  said  that  the  god 
Apis  revealed  through  them  the  secrets  of  the  uni- 
verse. The  phenomena  of  hypnotism  were  familiar 
to  the  Babylonians  and  belief  in  their  supernatural 
origin  was  everywhere  prevalent. 

The  priestess  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi 
prepared  herself  for  her  tasks  by  first  subjecting 
herself  to  long  fasts  and  much  mortification.  Then 
she  took  her  seat  on  the  tripod  placed  over  a  deep 
chasm  in  the  ground  from  which  sulphurous  vapours 
in  large  quantities  constantly  arose.     This  brought 

127 


128     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

on  a  state  of  hypnotism  in  which  she  poured  forth 
sayings  that  were  universally  regarded  as  the  oracles 
of  a  god.  Among  the  ancient  Israelites  the  witch 
of  Endor  played  a  similar  role.  She  undoubtedly 
caused  her  devotees  to  believe  that  she  endowed 
them  with  power  to  see  the  shades  of  their  departed 
as.  truly  as  they  ever  saw  them  with  the  physical  eye 
when  alive. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  sibyls  in  their  hypnotic 
convulsions  uttered  prophecies  of  which,  when 
awake,  they  had  no  conscious  knowledge.  For  cent- 
uries Indian  fakirs  in  large  numbers  have  repeat- 
edly put  themselves  into  a  condition  in  which  they 
could,  it  is  alleged,  without  pain,  swing  on  hooks 
thrust  through  the  naked  flesh,  lie  down  on  a  bed 
of  spikes,  hang  suspended  before  a  slow  fire,  hold 
their  limbs  in  a  given  position  tintil  they  became 
immovable,  and  do  other  marvellous  feats  that  are 
impossible  to  man  in  his  normal  wakeful  state. 

After  the  introduction  of  Christianity  it  came 
about  that  all  these  phenomena  were  usually  ascribed 
to  evil  spirits  and  those  who  passed  into  this  hyp- 
notic state  were  called  witches.  In  the  year  1600 
A.D.  it  is  estimated  that  there  were  about  three 
hundred  thousand  witches  in  France  alone,  not  to 
say  anything  about  other  parts  of  the  globe.  During 
the  Middle  Ages  a  hypnotic  phenomenon  that  at- 
tracted much  attention  was  the  curing  of  certain  dis- 
eases by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  Many  kings  and 
princes  claimed  to  possess  this  power,  but  it  was 
exercised  by  others  in  a  much  more  extraordinary 
manner. 


Hypnotism  129 

About  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  an 
Irishman  by  the  name  of  Greatrakes,  prompted  by 
an  alleged  divine  revelation,  cured  many  cases  of 
scrofula  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  and  afterwards 
succeeded  equally  well  with  fevers,  dropsy,  and  the 
like.  At  one  time  he  had,  it  is  said,  no  less  than 
ten  thousand  patients.  Another  great  hypnotic 
healer,  who  appeared  in  Southern  Germany  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  a  Catholic 
priest  by  the  name  of  Joseph  Gassner.  Gassner 
believed  that  most  diseases  were  due  to  demoniacal 
possession.  In  proof  of  this  he  first  threw  his  pa- 
tients into  convulsions  and  then  commanded  the 
demon  to  depart.  The  power  he  exercised  over  a 
great  multitude  of  people  is  almost  beyond  belief. 

In  our  own  day  in  the  Orient  it  is  no  uncommon 
thing  for  a  company  of  dervishes  to  sit  down  to- 
gether in  a  circle  and,  amid  the  continuous  beating 
of  drums  and  the  monotonous  playing  of  castanets, 
by  a  series  of  swaying  movements  of  the  body,  to 
get  themselves  into  such  a  state  that  they  can  pierce 
their  flesh  with  swords  and  daggers,  swallow,  it  is 
asserted,  small  pieces  of  broken  glass,  and  perform 
other  similar  feats  without  pain  or  apparent  discom- 
fort. This  is  their  conception  of  religion,  and  they 
believe  that  by  such  rites  as  these  they  best  prepare 
themselves  for  absorption  into  the  Infinite. 

But  such  performances  are  not  confined  to  the 
Far  East.  Similar  strange  phenomena  often  occur 
in  our  own  land.  McMaster,  in  h\s,  History  of  the 
People  of  the  United  States  (vol.  ii.,  p.  578  seq.^,  re- 
ferring to  the  so-called  religious  revivals  in  Kentucky 


130     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

in  the  summer  of  1800,  tells  us  that  the  people  of 
all  denominations  —  Methodists,  Baptists,  Presby- 
terians, and  Episcopalians — abandoned  their  work 
and  homes  and  hurried  in  droves  to  the  camp- 
grounds. Men,  women,  and  children  took  part 
promiscuously  in  the  praying  and  exhortation. 
These  exercises  were  continued  day  and  night  for  a 
week  at  a  time  almost  without  interruption.  Hund- 
reds of  sinners  fell  daily  motionless  and  speechless 
to  the  ground. 

"  At  Cabin  Creek,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  so  many  fell 
that,  lest  the  multitude  should  tread  on  them,  they  were 
carried  to  the  meeting  -  house  and  laid  in  rows  on  the 
floor.  At  Cane  Ridge  the  number  was  three  thousand. 
.  .  .  As  the  meetings  grew  more  and  more  frequent," 
he  continues,  "  this  nervous  excitement  assumed  new 
and  more  terrible  forms.  One  was  known  as  jerking; 
another  as  the  barking  exercise;  a  third  as  the  Holy 
Laugh.  '  The  jerks '  began  in  the  head  and  spread 
rapidly  to  the  feet.  The  head  would  be  thrown  from 
side  to  side  so  swiftly  that  the  features  would  be  blotted 
out  and  the  hair  made  to  snap.  When  the  body  was 
affected  the  sufferer  was  hurled  over  hindrances  that 
came  in  his  way,  and  finally  dashed  on  the  ground  to 
bounce  about  like  a  ball. 

"At  camp-meetings  in  the  far  South,"  he  tells  us, 
"  saplings  were  cut  off  breast-high  and  left  for  the  people 
to  jerk  by.  .  .  .  Men  dreamed  dreams  and  saw 
visions,  nay,  fancied  themselves  dogs,  went  down  on  all 
fours,  and  barked  until  they  grew  hoarse.  It  was  no  un- 
common sight  to  behold  numbers  of  them  gathered  about 
a  tree,  barking,  yelping,  treeing  the  devil." 


Hypnotism  '       131 

Sir  William  Crookes,  the  President  of  the  British 
Scientific  Association  for  1898-9,  says  of  a  well- 
known  hypnotic  operator  by  the  name  of  Home  with 
whom  he  experimented,  that  after  several  minor  ex- 
hibitions of  his  power, 

"Mr.  Home  again  went  to  the  fire,  and  after  stirring 
the  coal  about  with  his  hand,  took  out  a  red-hot  piece 
nearly  as  big  as  an  orange,  and  putting  it  on  his  right 
hand  so  as  to  almost  completely  enclose  it,  blew  into  the 
furnace  thus  extemporised  until  the  lump  of  charcoal  was 
nearly  white-hot,  and  then  drew  my  attention  to  the  lam- 
bent flame  which  was  flickering  over  the  coal  and  lick- 
ing round  his  fingers."  {^Proceedings  of  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research,  December,  1889,  p.  103.) 

Similar  phenomena  are  vouched  for  by  Lord  Craw- 
ford, Lord  Dunraven,  and  other  witnesses  equally 
competent  {Ibid.,  June,  1893,  p.  165). 

The  first  attempt  to  study  these  phenomena  with 
any  care  was  made  by  Dr.  Friedrich  Anton  Mesmer, 
who  received  his  degree  from  the  University  of 
Vienna  in  1766,  taking  for  the  subject  of  his  gradu- 
ating thesis,  "The  Influence  of  the  Planets  on  the 
Human  Body."  He  began  his  practice  as  a  phy- 
sician by  the  free  use  of  magnets  and  attributed  his 
remarkable  success  to  their  power.  Soon  he  found, 
however,  that  the  same  effects  could  be  produced 
without  the  magnets  and  he  adopted  the  theory  that 
there  exists  everywhere  in  all  bodies  a  force  that 
may  be  called  animal  magnetism  which  can  be  used 
as  a  cure  with  most  beneficial  results.  "Through 
certain  manipulations,"  he  says,  "even  simply  by 


132     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

merely  a  strong  act  of  will,  one  can  produce  this 
power  in  persons,  impart  it  to  others,  and  cause  the 
most  marvellous  and  wholesome  effects." 

He  communicated  his  views  to  various  learned 
societies,  but  they  either  paid  them  no  attention  or 
declared  them  wholly  untenable.  He  was  expelled 
from  Vienna  in  1777  for  the  alleged  cure  of  a  blind 
girl,  after  an  investigation  by  an  imperial  commis- 
sion, and  then  he  moved  to  Paris.  There  he  soon 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Charles  d'Eslon,  who 
stood  high  in  court  circles,  and  who  introduced 
him  to  the  world  of  fashion.  Almost  at  once  all 
Paris  became  so  fascinated  by  the  new  doctrine 
that  Mesmer's  parlours  were  crowded  with  patients. 
Subscriptions  had  to  be  made  for  treatment  long  in 
advance. 

In  order  to  have  his  patients  quickly  susceptible 
to  this  fluid,  as  he  called  it,  Mesmer  had  his  apart- 
ments dimly  lighted  and  hung  with  mirrors.  Strains 
of  soft  music  occasionally  broke  the  profound  silence. 
The  patients  with  their  hands  joined  and  with  their 
waists  connected  by  a  common  cord,  sat  around  a 
large  vat  filled  with  various  chemicals  simmering 
over  a  slow  fire,  waiting  with  greatest  expectancy 
the  coming  of  their  healer.  When  the  excitement 
was  at  its  height  Mesmer  would  solemnly  enter, 
clothed  in  the  violet  robe  of  a  magician,  holding  in 
his  hand  an  iron  staff.  He  would  majestically 
stroke  one,  gaze  intently  at  another,  and  perform 
some  mysterious  passes  before  a  third.  Soon  the 
whole  company  would  be  laughing  or  crying,  whis- 
pering or  shouting,  standing  up  or  rolling  on  the 


Hypnotism  133 

floor,  completely  at  the  beck  of  the  magnetiser. 
Every  movement  and  every  sensation  and  thought 
would  seem  to  be  absolutely  subject  to  his  will. 

The  whole  French  capital  was  thrown  into  the 
greatest  excitement  over  the  matter.  The  medical 
faculty  of  Paris  denounced  Mesmer  in  the  most 
vigorous  terms  as  a  quack,  but  to  no  purpose.  The 
government  offered  him  an  annual  pension  of  twenty 
thousand  francs  for  the  secret  of  his  power,  but  he 
declined  to  give  it,  chiefly  for  the  reason,  as  after- 
wards appeared,  that  he  had  none  to  give.  Finally 
a  commission  was  appointed  by  the  government, 
consisting  of  some  of  the  most  eminent  physicians 
and  scientific  men  of  the  day,  to  give  the  matter 
a  thorough  investigation.  Benjamin  Franklin  and 
the  famous  chemist  Lavoissier  were  members  of  this 
commission,  and  the  cures  were  carefully  studied. 
The  elaborate  report  that  was  finally  made  summed 
up  the  matter  as  follows : 

"  On  blindfolding  those  who  seemed  to  be  most 
susceptible  to  the  influence  all  its  ordinary  effects  were 
produced  when  nothing  was  done  to  them,  but  when  they 
imagined  they  were  magnetised;  while  none  of  its  effects 
were  produced  when  they  were  really  magnetised,  but  im- 
agined nothing  was  done;  that  when  brought  under  a 
tree  [one  of  Mesmer's  favourite  modes  of  operating] 
nothing  happened  if  the  subjects  of  the  experiment 
thought  that  they  were  at  a  distance  from  the  tree,  while 
they  were  immediately  thrown  into  convulsions  if  they 
believed  they  were  near  the  tree,  although  really  at  a  dis- 
tance from  it;  and  that  consequently  the  effects  actually 
produced  were  produced  purely  by  the  imagination." 


134     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

This  investigation,  however,  did  not  end  the  mat- 
ter. Another  commission  of  equal  importance  to 
the  first  was  appointed  which  practically  nullified 
the  position  taken  above,  and  the  whole  affair  was 
left  about  as  it  was  at  the  outset.  Neither  com- 
mission denied  the  reality  of  the  facts.  They  simply 
could  not  agree  as  to  their  explanation.  At  this 
time  mesmeric  societies  or  Harmonic  Orders,  as 
they  were  sometimes  called,  existed  throughout 
France  and  the  members  numbered  many  thousand. 
But  internal  dissensions  and  the  outbreak  of  the 
French  Revolution  caused  them  soon  to  disintegrate. 
Mesmer  retired  to  England  and  finally  to  Meersburg 
in  Germany,  where  he  lived  in  obscurity  till  his  death 
in  1815. 

But  one  of  Mesmer's  most  zealous  pupils,  a  noble- 
man by  the  name  of  Puysegur,  continued  the  work 
in  Paris  with  great  vigour.  He  had  so  many  pa- 
tients that  he  could  not  treat  them  personally,  and 
so  he  devised  the  scheme  of  magnetising  a  large  elm 
tree  on  his  estate  near  Soissons  and  letting  the  peo- 
ple have  the  benefit.  Great  multitudes,  by  getting 
under  the  tree,  partook  of  its  healing  power. 

Puysegur  was  the  first  to  claim  that  this  so-called 
animal  magnetism  could  greatly  quicken  the  mental 
powers.  He  magnetised  an  ignorant  labourer  on 
his  estate  so  that  he  knew  almost  as  much  at  times 
as  his  employer.  He  found  by  experimenting  upon 
many  people  that  a  large  per  cent,  of  them  were 
much  more  keen  and  intelligent  in  this  magnetic 
sleep  than  when  awake 

This  led  to  the  theory  that  every  person  is  en- 


Hypnotism  135 

dowed  with  a  so-called  sixth  sense,  the  organ  of 
which  is  the  whole  nervous  system.  When  the 
other  senses  are  benumbed  by  magnetism  this  sense, 
it  was  claimed,  can  perform  the  function  of  all  the 
others.  In  this  way  a  person  can  be  made  to  see 
and  comprehend  not  only  the  condition  of  his  own 
body,  but  also  that  of  others.  Usually  this  state 
was  induced  by  passes  and  similar  manipulations, 
but  it  could  be  brought  on  by  the  action  of  the  will 
alone.  In  this  form  the  doctrine  had  a  strong  fol- 
lowing in  all  parts  of  the  civilised  world. 

Although  Elliotson  was  the  first  to  introduce 
curative  mesmerism  into  England  and  Dr.  Esdaile 
did  much  to  show  its  usefulness  in  surgery  by  his 
wonderful  operations  upon  hypnotised  Hindoos  in 
the  Calcutta  Hospital,  the  first  really  scientific  study 
of  hypnotic  phenomena  was  made  by  the  celebrated 
Dr.  James  Braid  of  Manchester,  England.  In  his 
book  entitled  Neurypnology,  published  in  1842,  he 
gives  us  the  results  of  his  observations  and  personal 
experiments  on  the  subject.  He  concludes  that 
the  phenomena  in  question  are  not  due  to  any 
power  transmitted  from  one  individual  to  another 
by  means  of  metallic  disks,  magnets,  passes,  or  any 
other  agent,  but  are  to  be  traced  to  the  brain  of 
the  subject  acted  on  by  suggestion,  a  principle  long 
recognised  by  psychologists,  but  not  elevated  in  his 
day  to  anything  like  its  due  prominence. 

He  found  that  he  could  produce  all  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  magnetisers  by  simply  helping  the 
subject  to  concentrate  all  his  attention  for  several 
minutes,  if  necessary,  on  some  bright  object  like  a 


136     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

highly  polished  piece  of  silver  or  gold.  If  this  were 
done,  the  eyelids  would  begin  to  droop  and  the  sub- 
ject would  pass  off  into  a  more  or  less  profound  slum- 
ber. Hence,  he  classified  all  these  phenomena  under 
the  term  hypnotism,  discarding  the  expression  ani- 
mal magnetism  altogether. 

In  his  experiments  he  found  that  hypnotic  sleep 
is  not  always  the  same,  but  varies  greatly  from  light 
dreaming  to  deep  coma,  in  which  there  seems  to  be 
an  utter  loss  of  consciousness  and  will.  He  ob- 
served also  that  a  change  from  one  of  these  states 
to  another  could  be  brought  about  by  blowing  in 
the  face  of  the  subject  and  that  he  could  be  awak- 
ened in  the  same  manner, — in  general,  that  the  sub- 
ject would  experience  whatever  he  was  told  to 
experience  by  the  operator  in  a  commanding  tone 
of  voice. 

Dr.  Braid's  experiments  and  theories  did  not  at 
the  time  receive  the  attention  they  deserve,  for  other 
more  sensational  and  semi-fraudulent  performances 
absorbed  the  attention  of  the  public.  In  America, 
Grimes's  Ehxtrobiology  excited  universal  interest, 
and  two  brothers  by  the  name  of  Davenport  went 
over  to  England  about  1850  and  gained  great  not- 
oriety as  "biological  professors."  They  hypnotised 
their  subjects  by  having  them  gaze  intently  at  a 
little  disk  of  zinc  and  copper  which  was  held  in  the 
hollow  of  the  hand.  Baron  von  Reichenbach,  in 
Germany,  came  out  about  the  same  time  with  his 
alleged  discovery  of  a  new  form  of  energy  which  he 
called  odylic  force. 

But  the  careful  scientific  study  that  the  phenomena 


Hypnotism  137 

of  hypnotism  have  received  in  our  day  has  resulted 
in  the  quite  general  opinion  among  the  competent 
that  Dr.  Braid's  position  is  the  true  one  and  that 
the  principle  of  suggestion,  or  what  Dr.  Carpenter 
calls  "the  power  of  a  dominant  idea,"  lies  at  the 
basis  of  these  abnormal  forms  of  our  mental  life. 

Some  of  the  principal  authorities  on  the  subject 
at  the  present  are,  in  France,  Professor  Charcot,  the 
recent  famous  head  of  the  great  French  hospital  of 
La  Salpetriere,  Professor  Richet  of  the  University 
of  France,  Professors  Bernheim,  Liebault,  and 
Beaunis  of  the  College  of  Nancy;  in  England,  Pro- 
fessor Sidgwick  of  Cambridge,  Professor  Lodge  of 
Liverpool,  Professor  Barrett  of  London,  Edmund 
Gurney,  Dr.  Myers,  and  Frank  Podmore ;  Ober- 
steiner,  Gessmann,  and  Moll  in  Germany ;  and  Pro- 
fessors James,  Hyslop,  and  Newbold  in  the  United 
States. 

It  was  formerly  supposed  that  only  weak  and 
nervous  persons  were  susceptible  to  hypnotism,  but 
it  is  now  generally  admitted  that  almost  anybody  is 
susceptible  to  it,  although  the  depth  of  the  sleep 
varies  with  different  individuals. 

Liebault  in  France  failed  in  only  2^  out  of  ion 
cases  and  Wetterstrand  of  Sweden  says  in  his  well- 
known  work  on  Hypnotism  and  its  Application  to 
Practical  Medicine  that  "of  3148  persons  I  have 
hypnotised  since  January,  1887,  but  97  failed  to  re- 
spond to  my  suggestion."  Van  Renterghem  and 
Van  Eeden  in  Holland  in  414  cases  had  only  19 
failures. 

Many  now  deny  that  hysterical  persons  are  as  a 


13^     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

rule  more  easily  hypnotised  than  others.  At  all 
events  other  forms  of  physical  weakness  do  not  ap- 
pear to  make  any  special  difference.  The  chief 
thing  is  that  there  should  be  a  willingness  on  the 
part  of  the  subject  and  a  power  of  concentrating  the 
attention  on  the  proposed  sleep.  It  is  not  yet  a 
settled  question  as  to  whether  this  willingness  must 
always  be  present.  There  are  some  cases  where 
hypnotisation  seems  to  have  taken  place  uncon- 
sciously and  against  the  will  of  the  subject,  though 
it  may  be  maintained  that  this  opposition  was  over- 
come before  the  hypnotisation  took  place. 

Age  makes  a  great  difference  in  regard  to  suscept- 
ibility to  hypnotism,  persons  between  seven  and 
twenty-one  being  much  the  best  subjects.  In  the 
mystic  ceremonies  of  the  ancients  young  people  were 
almost  always  employed.  Climate  has  considerable 
influence  in  the  matter.  Warm  countries  furnish 
the  easier  subjects  and  the  tropics  by  far  the  great- 
est number.  In  general,  anything  that  favours  re- 
pose increases  susceptibility  to  hypnotic  influence. 
If  a  person  has  little  power  to  pay  attention  or  is 
absorbed  in  other  thoughts,  he  will  be  hard  to  hyp- 
notise. For  this  reason  it  is  practically  impossible 
to  hypnotise  an  idiot  and  often  very  difificult  to 
hypnotise  an  insane  person.  In  spite  of  these 
exceptions,  it  is  still  true,  as  Sidis  remarks  in  his 
Psychology  of  Suggestion,  that  "man  is  a  suggest- 
ible animal,  par  excellence." 

In  regard  to  the  means  of  producing  hypnotic 
sleep,  they  are  almost  as  various  as  the  hypnotisers 
themselves.     A  crawfish  can  be  hypnotised  by  any 


Hypnotism  139 

schoolboy  by  holding  up  its  head  and  claws  and 
gently  stroking  its  bent  tail.  Hens  have  often  been 
thrown  into  a  cataleptic  state  by  drawing  a  long 
straight  chalk-line  from  their  bills  when  held  to  the 
ground.  Snake  charmers  tame  serpents  by  staring 
at  their  eyes.  In  the  same  way  snakes  paralyse 
frogs  and  horse-tamers  gain  control  over  the  most 
vicious  brutes.  This  can  be  done  also  with  human 
beings.  The  Hindoo  fakir  hypnotises  himself  by 
gazing  intently  and  continuously  at  the  pit  of  his 
stomach.  It  is  possible  for  a  person  to  hypnotise 
himself  by  staring  at  his  own  image  in  a  mirror. 
The  ancients  made  much  use  of  mirrors  and  the 
glistening  surface  of  water  with  this  end  in  view. 

Though  the  eye  is  made  much  use  of,  one  may  be 
hypnotised  through  any  sense.  Some  persons  re- 
spond most  quickly  to  the  monotonous  sound  of  a 
gong  or  tom-tom  or  a  tuning-fork.  Others  have 
been  hypnotised  through  touch  and  a  few  through 
the  sense  of  smell.  Even  a  person  in  a  deep  natural 
sleep  may  be  hypnotised  by  simply  pressing  for  a 
moment  or  two  upon  the  eyelids. 

The  ways  of  awakening  a  subject  are  as  varied 
almost  as  the  ways  of  putting  him  to  sleep.  A  per- 
son may  be  de-hypnotised  by  blowing  in  the  face, 
by  opening  the  eyelids  and  blowing  directly  into  the 
eyes,  or  by  pressing  upon  some  particularly  sensitive 
part  of  the  body.  By  using  a  screen  one  half  of  the 
body  may  be  awakened,  while  the  other  half  is  left 
asleep,  just  as  one  half  of  the  body  can  be  hyp- 
notised while  the  other  half  is  left  awake. 

Much  has  been  made  of  the  different  stages  of 


I40     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

hypnotism,  but  it  has  been  found  that  they  are 
often  not  clearly  marked  and  vary  greatly  with 
different  persons.  The  three  stages  advocated  by 
Charcot  are  known  as  the  cataleptic,  the  lethargic, 
and  the  somnambulistic.  The  first  stage  is  char- 
acterised by  a  loss  of  the  power  of  motion  due  to  a 
violent  contraction  of  the  muscles.  The  limbs  re- 
main in  any  position  given  by  the  operator,  or  may 
become  perfectly  rigid.  It  is  often  induced  by  sud- 
den fright  due  to  some  such  thing  as  the  shriek 
of  a  locomotive,  a  clap  of  thunder,  the  unexpected 
sounding  of  a  gong.  Some  persons  on  inhaling 
ether  or  chloroform  pass  at  first  into  this  state  be- 
fore reaching  a  narcotic  condition.  It  is  in  this 
stage  of  hypnotism  that  persons  are  sometimes  sus- 
pended between  a  couple  of  chairs  by  the  neck  and 
feet  and  then  used  to  support  heavy  weights  as 
though  their  bodies  were  made  of  wood  or  iron. 
This  is  a  dangerous  experiment,  as  the  tetanus,  or 
rigidity  of  muscles,  may  extend  to  the  lungs  and 
heart. 

In  the  lethargic  stage  there  is  such  a  relaxation  of 
the  muscles  as  to  result  in  a  general  collapse  of  the 
body.  All  the  senses  are  usually  inactive,  though 
the  hearing  may  sometimes  be  aroused  by  a  speak- 
ing-tube placed  in  the  ear.  The  state  is  usually  in- 
duced by  staring  or  by  a  gentle  pressure  on  the 
eyeballs,  although  it  may  arise  by  transmission 
from  the  first  stage  by  closing  the  eyelids,  or  from 
the  third  stage  by  pressure  on  the  eyes.  When  the 
state  of  lethargy  is  fully  realised  the  eyes  remain 
closed  or  half-closed,  and  turned  upwards  and  in- 


Hypnotism  141 

wards.  By  opening  one  of  the  eyes  the  lethargic 
state  may  be  immediately  changed  into  the  cata- 
leptic for  one  half  of  the  body  and  by  opening  both 
eyes  the  change  may  extend  over  the  whole  body. 

The  third  or  somnambulistic  stage  is  the  one  that 
attracts  the  most  attention.  It  is  produced  by  any 
of  the  ordinary  methods  of  hypnotising  or  from 
either  of  the  other  stages.  Like  the  other  stages  it 
is  characterised  by  insensibility  to  pain,  but  there  is 
no  abnormal  irritability  of  the  muscles.  The  eyes 
are  generally  closed.  If,  however,  they  are  open  in 
part  there  is  no  winking.  Pressure  on  one  of  the 
eyelids  may  immediately  cause  semi-lethargy  and 
on  both  eyes  complete  lethargy.  The  senses  in  this 
state  are  often  quickened  to  a  remarkable  degree. 
Persons  see,  hear,  smell,  etc.,  with  far  greater  acute- 
ness  than  when  awake.  The  mental  powers  in  gen- 
eral are  often  so  highly  sharpened  that  the  results 
seem  almost  incredible. 

As  has  been  already  intimated,  one  half  of  the 
body  may  be  hypnotised  while  the  other  half  re- 
mains in  its  normal  condition.  For  example,  one 
eye  may  be  made  colour-blind,  while  the  other  has 
its  normal  sight.  One  side  of  the  face  may  be  made 
to  laugh  while  the  other  cries,  one  hand  to  play  a 
tune  on  a  piano  while  the  other  lies  helpless  in  the 
lap  or  at  the  side.  The  two  halves  of  the  body  may 
be  in  different  stages  of  hypnotism  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  so  that  pleasant  things  will  be  heard  with 
one  ear,  and  unpleasant  with  the  other,  a  drop  of 
water  be  sweet  to  one  side  of  the  tongue  and  bitter 
to  the  other.     This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  each  half 


142     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

of  the  brain,  to  a  large  extent  at  least,  governs  its 
separate  half  of  the  body,  and  that  each  half  and 
apparently  any  portion  of  that  half  may  be  hyp- 
notised without  interfering  with  the  normal  action 
of  the  other  half. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  effects  of  hypnotism  is 
on  the  memory.  It  may  be  made  remarkably  dull  or 
remarkably  active.  It  is  generally  true  that  a  deeply 
hypnotised  person  remembers  nothing  when  awake 
of  what  took  place  while  in  the  hypnotic  condition, 
but  when  he  is  hypnotised  again  he  has  a  clear  and 
vivid  remembrance  of  all  the  details  of  the  previous 
hypnotic  condition.  A  second  peculiarity  of  the 
hypnotic  state  regarding  memory  is  that  the  subject 
often  has  a  far  more  vivid  recollection  of  past  wake- 
ful experiences  than  when  in  the  usual  normal  state. 
Many  things  that  could  not  be  brought  into  con- 
sciousness at  all  even  with  the  greatest  effort  stand 
out  before  the  mind  with  extraordinary  distinctness. 
Long-forgotten  things  are  often  as  fresh  and  vivid 
as  though  they  occurred  but  yesterday.  Poems 
are  repeated  that  cannot  possibly  be  recalled  when 
awake  and  even  the  ability  to  speak  fluently  in  a 
foreign  language  may  return  when  for  years  all  con- 
scious possession  of  the  power  has  disappeared  alto- 
gether. 

Dr.  Carpenter  of  London  {Mental  Physiology,  p. 
607)  vouches  for  the  fact  that  a  hypnotised  factory 
girl  with  no  musical  training  whatever  remembered 
and  reproduced  some  of  Jenny  Lind's  exquisite 
songs  in  different  languages  so  correctly  "as  to  both 
words  and  music  that  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish 


Hypnotism  i43 

the  two  voices."  Jenny  Lind  herself  assisted  at 
the  experiments. 

Another  fact  about  memory  in  hypnotism  is  that 
if  a  hypnotised  person  is  told  to  remember  when 
awake  what  was  said  and  done  while  he  was  hyp- 
notised, he  can  do  it,  but  he  cannot  do  it  of  his  own 
accord.  It  is  even  possible  for  all  memory,  both  of 
wakeful  and  hypnotic  states,  to  be  obliterated  for 
quite  a  long  period  by  the  same  method. 

Some  simple  experiments  illustrating  these  facts 
are  given  by  Professor  Beaunis.  In  his  laboratory 
in  Nancy  he  hypnotised  a  young  lady  and  told  her 
that  on  awaking  she  would  see  her  friend  with  a 
nose  of  silver  ten  inches  long.  Immediately  on 
awaking  she  burst  out  laughing  at  the  sight  and 
could  not  be  persuaded  that  no  such  nose  was  visible 
to  others.  On  hypnotising  her  again  shortly  after  he 
told  her  the  silver  nose  was  gone.  When  awaking 
again  she  did  not  see  it  and  had  no  recollection  of 
ever  having  seen  it  or  of  hearing  anything  said  about 
the  subject.  Another  lady  when  hypnotised  was 
told  that  in  three  minutes  after  awaking  she  would 
embrace  a  little  peasant  woman  whom  she  had  never 
seen  before  with  great  affection.  She  did  so,  but 
later  had  no  recollection  of  the  fact  whatsoever. 

A  strange  thing  about  these  cases  is  that  the 
memory  becomes  very  distinct  when  next  hypnot- 
ised. This  shows  that  they  are  probably  performed 
in  a  temporary  state  of  somnambulism  and  that  the 
wakefulness  at  that  moment  is  only  apparent. 

A  person  by  hypnotism  may  be  made  to  forget 
any  one   or   all   the   vowels  of    the   alphabet,  any 


144     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

one  or  all  the  consonants,  the  nouns,  or  any  of  the 
other  parts  of  speech,  a  portion  of  his  own  life,  his 
own  name,  or  any  fact  or  set  of  facts;  in  short,  as 
Bjornstrom  says,  "it  would  seem  to  be  as  easy  to 
benumb  by  suggestion  a  certain  group  of  brain  cells, 
as  it  is  to  paralyse  a  muscle." 

The  most  striking  fact  about  memory  under  the 
influence  of  hypnotism  is  its  marvellous  appreciation 
of  time.  If  a  hypnotised  person  is  told  to  do  a  cer- 
tain thing  at  a  specified  time  in  the  future  he  will 
punctually  perform  it,  though  months  or  even  years 
have  elapsed  since  it  was  ordered  and  no  conscious 
thought  has  been  given  to  the  matter  during  the  in- 
terim. And  when  he  does  the  deed  he  has  no  mo- 
tive clearly  in  consciousness  for  the  act,  but  seems 
to  be  impelled  by  an  irresistible  impulse.  No  sug- 
gestion from  without  will  induce  him,  as  in  wakeful- 
ness, to  do  it.  Nor  will  he  do  it  before  the  time. 
The  memory  and  the  impulse  come  only  at  the  ap- 
pointed hour.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  among 
students  of  this  subject  about  the  reality  of  this 
phenomenon,  but  no  general  agreement  exists  in 
explanation  of  it.  A  weak  analogy  to  it  in  normal 
life  is  the  ability  of  some  persons  to  awaken  them- 
selves from  ordinary  sleep  at  an  appointed  hour,  if 
they  have  fully  determined  to  do  so  before  the  sleep 
was  begun. 

There  is  also  in  the  hypnotic  state  an  extraordin- 
ary development  of  the  imagination  and  associative 
powers.  The  ability  to  be  influenced  by  suggestion 
is  so  great  in  hypnotism  that  most  authorities  now 
hold  that  all  hypnotism  is  due  to  it,  the  idea  sug- 


Hypnotism  i45 

gested  coming  from  without  or  from  the  mind's  own 
powers.  The  ways  of  conveying  the  suggestion 
from  without  are  as  manifold  as  the  ways  of  reaching 
the  brain  centres.  But  the  usual  way  and  the  most 
convenient  is  through  the  spoken  word.  Whatever 
the  operator  declares  to  be  true,  the  subject  will  re- 
gard as  true,  and  act  accordingly.  The  suggestion 
may  also  be  communicated  in  writing  through  the 
eye,  or  through  the  sense  of  smell,  or  of  taste,  or  of 
touch. 

If  a  hypnotised  person  is  told  a  piece  of  iron  is 
hot  it  will  be  hot  to  him,  no  matter  how  cold  it 
actually  is ;  and  if  he  is  told  that  a  quinine  pill  is 
sweet,  it  will  be  sweet,  no  matter  how  bitter  it  may 
be  in  reality.  If  a  person  is  hypnotised  for  a  few 
moments  only  and  then  told  on  awaking  that  he  has 
been  asleep  for  hours,  he  will  have  all  the  sensations 
that  usually  result  from  such  a  lapse  of  time  when 
in  a  normal  condition.  A  lady  who  had  been  hyp- 
notised only  for  a  few  moments  just  after  breakfast, 
about  9  A.M.,  when  told  it  was  2  P.M.  at  once  ex- 
perienced sharp  pangs  of  hunger  and  demanded  her 
dinner. 

Another  interesting  experiment  bearing  upon  the 
laws  of  optics  is  that  if  a  person  when  hypnotised  is 
told  to  read  a  given  inscription  upon  a  slip  of  blank 
paper,  he  will  do  it  and  will  see  two  inscriptions  if  a 
mirror  is  so  placed  as  to  give  a  reflection  of  the  sup- 
posed writing.  If  the  mirror  is  placed  directly  above 
the  slip  of  blank  paper,  he  will  see  the  second  in- 
scription upside  down  just  as  he  should  according  to 
the  laws  of  reflected  light.      Professors  Richet  and 


146     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Fer6  after  they  had  caused  a  subject  to  see  a  por- 
trait on  a  white  cardboard,  photographed  the  card- 
board, and  the  subject  saw  the  same  portrait  on  the 
photograph,  but  did  not  see  it  on  the  photograph  of 
the  other  cardboards,  apparently  exactly  like  the 
one  in  question.  The  effects  of  an  opera-glass  or 
a  microscope,  in  the  hands  of  such  a  subject,  is  just 
the  same  upon  these  images  as  upon  real  ones,  even 
if  he  has  never  used  these  instruments  before  or  is 
entirely  ignorant  of  their  power.  Yet  they  will  not 
reveal  to  him  any  absolutely  new  details  that  were 
invisible  to  his  naked  eye  before  the  instruments 
were  applied. 

The  experiment  of  having  a  subject  see  a  picture 
upon  a  perfectly  blank  card  and  then  infallibly  select 
that  card  from  a  large  number  exactly  like  it,  after 
they  have  all  been  thoroughly  shuffled  together,  is 
a  very  common  one.  The  probable  explanation  of 
these  phenomena  is  that  the  hynotised  subject  asso- 
ciates what  he  sees  with  some  spot  or  protuberance 
on  the  card  that  is  unnoticed  by  people  in  the  ordin- 
ary state  of  wakefulness. 

Suggestion  may  be  negative  as  well  as  positive. 
It  is  by  the  former  that  what  is  called  psychic  para- 
lysis is  produced.  That  is,  a  person  may  be  hypnot- 
ised so  as  not  to  be  able  to  see  or  feel  the  whole  of 
any  object  but  only  a  part.  He  may  also  be  unable 
to  perceive  an  object  or  person  with  any  except  a 
single  sense.  Two  well  -  known  experiments  will 
illustrate  this  point.  The  first  was  performed  by 
Beaunis  and  Liegeois.  They  hypnotised  a  lady  in 
their    laboratory   in  the    presence  of  a  number  of 


Hypnotism  i47 

friends  and  told  her  that  on  awaking  she  would  be 
unable  to  see  or  hear  Beaunis,  but  would  recognise 
him  solely  by  the  sense  of  touch.  When  she  awoke 
she  saw  and  conversed  with  all  the  others  present, 
but  all  efforts  to  induce  her  to  see  or  hear  Beaunis, 
although  he  placed  himself  directly  in  front  of 
her,  proved  of  no  avail.  The  moment  he  touched 
her,  however,  she  responded  at  once. 

The  second  experiment  is  reported  by  Binet  and 
Fer6.  They  conveyed  the  idea  to  a  hypnotised 
subject  that  on  awaking  she  could  not  see  Fer6, 
although  she  could  hear  and  touch  him.  Such  was 
the  fact.  She  would  stumble  against  him  when  he 
put  himself  in  front  of  her  and  would  hear  his  voice, 
but  all  the  time  he  would  be  invisible.  Some  one 
put  a  hat  on  his  head.  She  saw  the  hat,  but  thought 
it  was  suspended  from  the  ceiling  by  a  string.  She 
did  not  see  at  all  the  wearer.  When  a  coat  was  used 
instead  of  a  hat,  the  effect  was  the  same,  and  when 
Fer^  pinched  any  part  of  her  body  she  would  rub  it 
and  say  it  itched.  If  he  stopped  her  from  raising 
her  arm  she  would  say  that  she  had  a  cramp. 

The  effects  of  negative  suggestion  may  remain  for 
months  if  not  removed  by  the  operator,  and  then  it 
is  only  by  degrees  that  the  invisible  object  or  person 
comes  back  into  clear  consciousness  as  out  of  a 
thick  mist.  It  may  produce  an  actual  delirium 
where  all  rational  judgment  is  suspended  and  the 
individual  gives  himself  up  to  the  wildest  fancies. 
Such  a  condition  has  rightly  been  called  a  form  of 
artificial  insanity. 

Any  part   or  the  whole  of  the  motor  apparatus 


148     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

may  be  paralysed  by  negative  suggestion,  as  Charcot 
and  Bernheim  have  so  abundantly  proved.  Numer- 
ous experiments  show  how  easy  it  is  to  take  away 
instantly  the  power  to  read,  to  write,  to  sing, 
to  play  on  the  piano,  or  to  do  anything  else  that 
requires  the  action  of  the  muscles,  and  as  great  a 
variety  of  actions  may  be  inhibited  as  there  are 
possible  combinations  of  the  different  muscles  of 
the  body. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  spheres 
of  suggestion  is  the  realm  of  organic  life.  It  is 
proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  power  of  di- 
gestion, of  nutrition,  of  circulation,  and  the  like 
are  greatly  affected  by  it.  Professors  Liebault  and 
Beaunis  have  often  relieved  such  troubles  as  palpita- 
tion of  the  heart  in  this  manner.  They  have  also 
produced  a  raised  swelling  of  the  skin  in  this  way 
and  an  actual  blister  such  as  is  produced  by  a  Span- 
ish-fly plaster.  The  most  famous  of  these  experi- 
ments was  made  by  them  under  the  supervision  of  a 
number  of  French  scientists  in  1885.  A  young  girl 
was  hypnotised  about  11  A.M.  and  some  ordinary 
postage  stamps  were  plastered  on  her  back  in  imita- 
tion of  a  Spanish-fly  plaster.  Then  she  was  told 
emphatically  three  times  that  a  Spanish-fly  plaster 
had  been  applied  to  her  back  and  that  she  must  go 
to  bed  and  sleep  till  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
She  awoke  punctually  and  the  stamps  were  removed. 
The  blister  was  forming,  but  not  yet  fully  developed. 
At  four  o'clock  the  same  day  several  blister  spots 
appeared  and  fourteen  days  after  they  were  still  in 
full  suppuration.     A  second  Spanish-fly  blister  was 


Hypnotism  149 

formed  in  the  same  way  on  the  arm  of  this  girl 
several  days  later. 

Another  girl  was  treated  for  neuralgia  by  sugges- 
tion and  two  blisters  were  formed,  one  below  the 
left  ear  and  the  other  on  the  left  temple,  each  the 
size  of  a  five-franc  piece.  It  took  forty-eight  hours 
for  these  blisters  to  reach  full  development.  The 
experiment  of  making  a  real  Spanish-fly  plaster  in- 
effective was  also  attended  with  success,  although  it 
remained  on  the  patient  ten  hours.  Other  physi- 
cians have  produced  actual  blisters  by  using  mag- 
netised paper  (as  in  the  case  of  the  Italian  physician 
Louis  Prejalmini)  and  other  harmless  substances. 

Professor  Bourru  of  Rochefort  produced  the  phe- 
nomenon of  blood  perspiration  in  an  hysterical  man 
by  writing  the  man's  name  on  his  arm  with  a  blunt 
instrument  and  telling  him  in  a  loud  voice  that  at  4 
P.M.  blood  would  be  dripping  from  the  letters  of  his 
name,  and  such  was  the  fact.  Other  similar  experi- 
ments were  performed  on  the  same  patient  and  wit- 
nessed by  several  physicians.  Charcot  and  his 
pupils  have  often  produced  real  burns  by  sugges- 
tions, though  the  burns  took  several  hours  to 
develop. 

These  experiments  show  how  the  cases  of  stigma- 
tisation  are  to  be  explained  that  have  been  so  famous 
in  history.  It  is  a  well-established  fact  that  certain  re- 
ligious enthusiasts  have  been  able  to  produce  in  their 
own  bodies  stigmata  or  wounds  similar  to  those  re- 
ceived by  Jesus  in  connection  with  the  crucifixion. 
One  of  the  most  recent  and  best  attested  cases  of  this 
sort  is  described  by  Dr.  Carpenter  in  his  Mental  Phy- 


150     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

biology.  It  is  that  of  Louise  Lateau.  She  was  a  young 
Belgian  peasant  girl  who  rapidly  recovered  from  a 
severe  illness  after  receiving  the  sacrament.  This  fact 
made  so  great  an  impression  upon  her  and  she  dwelt 
so  much  upon  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  in  her  behalf, 
that  blood  soon  began  to  issue  every  Friday  from  a 
spot  on  her  left  side.  A  few  months  later  hemorrhages 
also  issued  every  Friday  from  similar  spots  on  the 
front  and  back  of  each  hand  and  on  the  upper  sur- 
face of  each  foot,  and  even  from  a  circle  of  spots  on 
the  forehead.  The  fits  of  ecstasy  that  accompanied 
these  hemorrhages  began  about  9  A.M.  and  ended 
about  6  P.M.,  during  which  time  the  several  scenes 
of  the  crucifixion  passed  vividly  before  her.  The 
spasm  reached  its  climax  about  3  P.M.,  when  she  ex- 
tended herself  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  form  of  a 
cross. 

The  effect  of  suggestion  upon  the  flow  of  tears, 
the  perspiration,  and  numerous  other  secretions  is 
even  more  striking  than  upon  the  circulation,  but 
there  is  no  need  of  further  illustrations  of  this  sort. 
They  are  simply  exaggerated  examples  of  what  is 
constantly  occurring  in  a  state  of  wakefulness.  The 
chief  thing  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  regard  to  them  all 
is  that  they  are  not  cases  of  reflex  action  to  be 
explained  simply  as  operations  of  the  body,  but 
primarily  cases  of  the  power  of  the  mind  through 
suggestion  to  manipulate  at  its  will  the  marvellously 
complicated  mechanism  of  the  brain,  and  make  it  do 
its  bidding. 

We  have  intentionally  limited  ourselves  thus  far 
to  those  phases  of  our  subject  which  have  to  do  with 


Hypnotism  151 

the  ordinary  methods  of  transmitting  the  ideas  and 
will  of  one  person  to  another  through  the  so-called 
five  senses.  There  is,  however,  another  phase  of  the 
subject  which  has  to  do  with  a  group  of  phenomena 
that  may  well  be  put  under  the  head  of  telepathy, 
or  thought-transference,  where  ideas  are  said  to  be 
transmitted  without  the  aid  of  any  material  medium 
as  yet  generally  recognised  by  the  science  of  our 
day.  This  aspect  of  hypnotism  is  now  receiving 
the  attention  of  some  of  the  most  carefully  trained 
scientists  of  the  world.  The  material  they  have  col- 
lected and  examined  is  so  unique  and  the  opinions 
they  have  expressed  concerning  it  so  important  that 
the  whole  subject  is  considered  by  itself  in  another 
chapter.  The  same  thing  is  also  true  of  mind  cure 
and  kindred  phenomena,  treated  at  length  in  Chapter 
VIII. 

We  will  conclude  what  we  have  here  to  say  with 
some  remarks  on  the  educational  and  legal  aspects 
of  hypnotism  together  with  some  general  cautions 
regarding  its  use. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  of  recent  experimenters 
on  the  effects  of  hypnotism  upon  idiotic  and  weak- 
minded  children  is  Liebault.  His  results  leave  little 
doubt  of  its  usefulness  in  almost  every  case.  By 
one  hypnotic  seance  he  made  a  boy  who  was  notori- 
ously inattentive  and  unreliable  in  his  work  event- 
ually much  above  the  average  in  his  class.  Another 
boy  who  was  actually  an  idiot  and  could  not  learn 
how  to  read  or  write,  he  so  aroused  by  repeated 
hypnotic  suggestion  that  in  two  months  he  could  re- 
peat the  alphabet  and  add  and  subtract. 


152     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Another  striking  example  of  the  use  of  hypnotism 
in  correcting  bad  habits  is  given  by  Berillon.  A 
boy  eleven  years  of  age  had  the  habit  from  infancy, 
whether  asleep  or  awake,  of  continually  crowding 
the  fingers  of  his  left  hand  into  his  mouth,  and  no 
threats  or  entreaties  or  castigations  could  keep  him 
from  doing  it.  When  the  boy  was  brought  to 
Berillon  his  nails  were  bitten  off  and  his  fingers  were 
covered  with  thick  swellings  ;  his  digestion  was  very 
much  disorganised  and  his  health  greatly  impaired. 
Berillon  at  once  treated  him  by  hypnotic  suggestion 
and  ordered  him  to  go  to  sleep  the  next  night  with- 
out putting  his  fingers  into  his  mouth  at  all.  The 
order  was  repeated  several  times  and  then  the  boy 
was  awakened.  The  next  day  the  parents  reported 
that  to  their  great  surprise  the  boy  obeyed  the 
order.  When  the  boy  was  asked  why  he  did  not 
crowd  his  fingers  into  his  mouth  as  usual,  he  replied 
that  he  continually  felt  the  impulse  to  do  so ;  but 
that  he  also  felt  that  he  could  not  do  it  if  he  tried. 
After  several  treatments  of  the  same  sort  the  im- 
pulse to  return  to  the  old  habit  disappeared  alto- 
gether. 

The  application  of  hypnotic  suggestion  to  such 
cases  is  now  of  everyday  occurrence  and  the  possi- 
ble good  that  may  come  from  a  wise  use  of  it  is  very 
great.  It  is  altogether  likely  that  thousands  of  de- 
fective and  weak-minded  children  as  well  as  adults 
will  be  developed  in  this  way  into  normal  characters, 
even  after  all  other  methods  of  treatment  have  failed 
to  benefit  them. 

The  legal  questions  that  hypnotism  has  raised  are 


Hypnotism  153 

many  and  intricate  and  their  importance  will  in  all 
probability  vastly  increase  in  the  immediate  future. 
One  of  the  most  important  of  these  questions  is,  Is 
a  person  likely  to  be  injured  physically  and  mentally 
by  being  thrown  into  the  hypnotic  state?  In  an- 
swering this  question  we  must  remember  that  all 
hypnotisation  results  from  an  artificially  produced 
condition  of  the  nervous  system.  However  slight 
it  may  be  it  is  a  departure  in  some  degree  from  the 
normal  healthy  state.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  no 
one  should  allow  himself  to  be  hypnotised  except 
for  therapeutic  or  scientific  purposes.  If  the  hyp- 
notisation is  in  the  hands  of  competent  physicians  a 
normal  healthy  person  may  be  hypnotised  without 
noticeable  evil  results,  the  temporary  irritation  of 
the  nervous  system  being  checked  before  going  to 
excess. 

Dr.  Myers  in  his  late  circular  to  the  members  of 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  entitled,  Hyp- 
notism, its  Conditions  and  Safeguards,  says  that  "the 
young  men  and  boys  on  whom  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research  has  conducted  numerous  experi- 
ments over  a  series  of  three  (and  in  some  cases  of 
six)  years,  have  always  been  and  remain  to  this  day 
in  full  health,  physically  and  morally."  These  per- 
sons were  in  the  hands  of  friends  and  thoroughly 
competent  experimenters,  but  there  are  numerous 
cases  on  record  where  subjects  of  so-called  profes- 
sional hypnotisers  have  sunk  into  long-continued 
melancholia  and  even  become  permanently  de- 
ranged. After  a  person  in  a  normal  healthy  condi- 
tion has  once  been  hypnotised,  the  nervous  system 


154     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

tends  to  grow  more  sensitive  and  it  may  become  so 
weakened  as  to  be  unable  to  resist  even  so  slight  a 
cause  of  hypnotisation  as  one's  own  image  reflected 
in  a  glass. 

Cases  of  what  is  called  cross-mesmerism  may  also 
arise.  This  is  the  case  of  a  subject  coming  under 
the  influence  of  more  than  one  person  at  the  same 
time.  In  such  instances  violent  physical  contortions 
often  arise  and  refuse  to  disappear  at  the  suggestion 
or  command  of  any  one.  It  also  happens  that  sub- 
jects are  dismissed  by  inexperienced  or  careless 
operators  before  they  are  fully  awake,  thus  render- 
ing them  liable  to  all  the  dangers  that  may  come  to 
a  person  only  in  half  possession  of  his  faculties. 

It  is  well  known  that  persons  even  in  wakefulness 
may  by  suggestion  do  themselves  great  harm.  In 
some  well-authenticated  instances  it  has  resulted  in 
the  death  of  the  person  who  gave  himself  up  to  it. 
Many  cases  are  recorded  where  persons  have  died 
from  taking  what  they  supposed  was  a  deadly  poison, 
when  in  reality  they  had  only  swallowed  some  per- 
fectly harmless  powder.  In  a  hypnotic  condition 
the  ability  to  be  injured  in  a  similar  manner  is  in- 
creased many  fold. 

That  a  hypnotiser  has  the  power  to  make  his  sub- 
ject commit  crimes  of  various  sorts,  there  can  be 
little  doubt.  Professor  Liegeois,  the  famous  pro- 
fessor of  jurisprudence  at  Nancy  already  referred  to 
above,  has  made  some  very  instructive  experiments 
upon  this  point.  Among  the  cases  he  reported  to 
the  academy  of  the  moral  and  political  sciences  i^ 
the  following: 


Hypnotism  155 

"  Mrs.  O.  is  a  young  and  very  intelligent  lady;  she  has 
received  an  excellent  education;  at  first  she  energetically 
resisted  all  suggestion,  but  gradually  yielded.  I  made 
her  believe  that  she  owed  me  one  thousand  francs  and 
asked  her  for  her  note.  She  obstinately  refused  to  give 
it  and  declared  that  she  owed  me  nothing  and  that  she 
would  never  acknowledge  any  debt  to  me.  I  insisted. 
She  began  to  hesitate,  she  remembered  it,  acknowledged 
it  before  several  witnesses,  and  wrote  the  note." 

The  Professor  afterwards  made  her  give  him  a  bond 
for  one  hundred  thousand  francs  on  account  of  her 
husband's  indebtedness,  though  in  fact  he  owed  no 
one  anything.  He  made  another  lady  by  suggestion 
acknowledge  that  she  had  killed  her  friend  and  give 
all  the  details  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  telling 
how  she  did  it  and  where  they  would  find  the  body. 

The  Professor  also  directed  a  young  man  to  put  a 
dose  of  arsenic  that  he  prepared  for  him  into  a  glass 
of  water  that  he  was  to  offer  his  aunt  the  next  even- 
ing when  she  called  for  a  drink.  The  attempt  at 
poisoning  was  actually  carried  out.  On  another  oc- 
casion he  hypnotised  a  Mrs.  G.  and  told  her  to 
shoot  a  certain  magistrate  with  a  revolver  he  gave 
her.  Before  doing  so  he  discharged  one  of  the 
chambers  of  the  revolver  at  an  object  near  by  so 
that  she  could  see  that  it  was  loaded.  She  did  as 
she  was  told  and  thought  that  she  killed  her  victim. 
She  was  immediately  arrested  and  acknowledged  her 
crime  without  hesitation.  She  could  not  be  induced 
in  any  way  to  allow  that  anybody  had  suggested  it 
to  her. 

It  is  possible  by  hypnotic  suggestion  to  cause  a 


15^     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

person  to  perjure  himself,  to  steal,  to  commit  almost 
any  immorality,  and  then  to  be  afflicted  with  amnesia 
or  loss  of  memory  regarding  the  whole  matter.  It 
is  a  fortunate  thing  with  reference  to  these  hypnotic 
crimes  that  they  have  rarely  been  committed  outside 
of  the  laboratory  of  some  experimenter.  But  they 
may  occur  in  real  life,  and  it  becomes  our  courts,  in 
this  age  when  so  great  a  strain  is  constantly  being 
put  upon  the  nervous  system,  not  to  leave  this 
source  of  crime  wholly  out  of  view.  We  admit  that 
it  is  not  likely  that  any  person  whose  morality  is 
based  on  clearly  recognised  principles  long  applied 
will  be  induced  to  commit  great  crimes  by  hypnotic 
or  post-hypnotic  suggestion.  It  is  claimed  by  some 
that  no  such  cases  have  as  yet  been  discovered. 
But  there  are  in  every  community  many  persons 
whose  regard  for  law  and  order  is  almost  wholly 
based  upon  expediency  or  fear.  In  hypnotism  such 
considerations  would  have  little  influence. 

Enough  is  now  known  of  the  possibilities  and 
dangers  of  hypnotism  to  make  it  evident  that  public 
hypnotic  exhibitions  should  be  prohibited  in  all  civil- 
ised lands.  Its  entire  control  should  be  vested,  so 
far  as  it  is  possible  to  vest  it  anywhere,  in  the  hands 
of  responsible  physicians  whose  interests  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community  will  tend  to  reduce  to  the 
minimum  its  perpetual  abuse. 

When  Donato,  one  of  the  famous  travelling  hyp- 
notisers  of  our  day,  was  giving  exhibitions  in  Turin 
many  who  attended  his  seances  afterwards  became 
seriously  sick  from  nervous  exhaustion  and  in- 
somnia.    Others  could  not^^help  falling  asleep  at  the 


Hypnotism  157 

most  inopportune  moments.  The  physicians  of  the 
city  protested  vigorously  against  his  performances 
and  Professor  Lombroso  of  the  Turin  University 
joined  in  the  protest.  In  his  report  on  the  matter 
he  collected  many  instances  of  its  ill  effects.  The 
result  was  that  Donato  was  expelled  from  Italy  and  a 
law  passed  prohibiting  such  exhibitions  in  the 
future. 

Austria  passed  a  similar  law  a  little  later,  so  much 
injury  having  been  done  throughout  the  empire  by 
a  Danish  operator  by  the  name  of  Hansen.  Switzer- 
land has  similar  regulations  and  so  has  Denmark. 
France  until  recently  was  the  paradise  of  hypnotisers. 
The  magnetic  societies  founded  by  Mesmer,  which 
were  swept  away  by  the  Revolution,  were  revived 
in  full  force  after  the  downfall  of  Napoleon.  In 
1888  it  was  reported  on  good  authority  that  there 
were  in  Paris  alone  five  hundred  somnambulistic 
cabinets,  twenty  periodicals  devoted  to  the  sub- 
ject, hypnotic  clinics  almost  without  number,  and 
over  forty  thousand  followers.  Recently,  however, 
France  has  joined  the  other  countries  mentioned 
above  in  a  general  prohibition  in  public  of  every- 
thing of  the  sort.  Russia  is  the  latest  country  to 
legislate  on  the  subject.  In  1893  a  decree  was  is- 
sued allowing  physicians  who  had  procured  proper 
certificates  of  fitness  to  practise  hypnotic  methods 
for  curing  disease. 

The  only  safe  position  to  take  in  the  matter  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  law  is  to  regard  hypnotism  as 
a  poison  and  to  prohibit  its  use  in  public  or  private 
except  by  properly  accredited  individuals  and  then 


158     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

only  for  scientific  ends  or  as  a  cure.  Its  use,  like 
that  of  strychnia,  belladonna,  or  chloroform,  if  in 
the  hand  of  the  physician,  may  become  a  great 
blessing,  but  if  in  that  of  others  an  unmitigated 
curse. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   MIND   IN   ITS   RELATION  TO  DISEASE 

EVERY  sane  person  knows  from  his  daily  experi- 
ence that  even  such  organic  movements  as  the 
inflation  of  the  lungs,  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 
and  the  digestion  of  food  can  be  greatly  impeded 
or  quickened  by  a  slight  change  in  the  current  of  his 
thoughts.  For  this  reason  very  few  people  care  to 
discuss  the  question  as  to  the  reality  of  the  influence 
of  the  mind  upon  the  body,  but  great  interest  has 
always  existed  in  the  inquiry  as  to  how  far  this  in- 
fluence may  extend  and  what  benefits  to  the  health 
and  happiness  of  mankind  may  come  from  its  intel- 
ligent application. 

The  subject  has  never  received  so  much  attention 
as  at  present  and  it  is  being  investigated  with  a 
scientific  accuracy  that  deserves  the  support  and  ap- 
proval of  all.  The  material  that  has  been  accumu- 
lated bearing  upon  the  matter  may  conveniently  be 
arranged  under  two  heads :  the  facts  showing  that 
the  mind  can  induce  disease  in  the  bodily  organism, 
and  the  facts  indicating  that  the  mind  can  exert  a 
powerful  influence  in  checking  disease,  however  it 
has  been  induced,  and  in  many  instances  can  dispel 
it  altogether. 

159 


i6o     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Our  plan  in  this  chapter  will  be  to  bring  together 
from  various  sources  a  goodly  number  of  well- 
authenticated  cases  bearing  upon  the  two  divisions 
of  our  subject,  describing  them  essentially  without 
comment.  Then  at  the  close  we  shall  try  to  discover 
the  general  principle  that  underlies  them  all  and  that 
ought  to  be  taken  for  granted  in  discussing  any 
alleged  evidence  for  the  extraordinary  healings  of 
Christian  Science  and  such  other  phenomena  as  the 
so-called  miracles  of  Lourdes. 

It  has  long  been  a  well-attested  fact  of  observa- 
tion, abundantly  confirmed  by  experiments  upon 
men  and  animals,  that  the  quantity  of  the  secretions 
of  the  body  are  affected  to  an  extraordinary  degree 
by  the  state  of  mind  of  the  subject  at  the  time  the 
secretions  occur.  A  copious  flow  of  the  saliva  may 
be  induced  by  the  sight  or  thought  of  savoury  food 
as  truly  as  by  its  actual  presence.  But  this  is  also 
true  of  the  quality.  Anxiety  of  mind  on  the  part 
of  the  mother  has  often  been  the  cause  of  sickness 
and  irritability  among  nursing  children,  and  some- 
times, indeed,  of  sudden  death. 

Among  the  many  cases  cited  by  Dr.  Tuke  in  his 
well-known  work  on  the  Influence  of  the  Mind  upon 
the  Body  (pp.  307,  308),  illustrative  of  this  point,  is 
the  following  reported  by  Dr.  Kellogg,  of  Port 
Hope,  Canada: 

"  A  lady  of  a  highly  excitable  temperament,  a  mother 
of  three  children  and  who  had  frequently  been  under  the 
medical  care  of  the  writer,  gave  birth  to  her  first  male 
child  about  one  year  since.     The  child  was  healthy  and 


The  Mind  and  Disease  i6i 

appeared  to  thrive  well  for  four  or  five  weeks.  Its 
mother  on  first  leaving  the  room  was,  as  is  frequently  the 
case  with  careful  housewives,  somewhat  excited  and 
vexed  with  the  condition  of  things  in  the  kitchen,  and  the 
'  high  life  below  stairs '  which  had  evidently  been  led  by 
the  servants  during  her  confinement.  She  was  also  ex- 
cited on  the  same  day  by  the  arrival  of  some  friends.  In 
addition  to  this,  after  retiring  to  her  room  she  heard  the 
child  next  in  years  to  the  infant  fall  down  a  flight  of 
stairs.  She  was  much  alarmed  and  had  the  child  brought 
up  to  her  room,  screaming,  with  its  nose  bleeding  and 
broken.  She  took  it  upon  her  lap,  bathed  its  face,  and 
after  stanching  the  hemorrhage  and  quieting  the  child  to 
sleep,  she  most  imprudently  and,  though  a  highly  intelli- 
gent person,  ignorantly  and  innocently  suffered  the  in- 
fant to  nurse  after  this  crowning  excitement  of  the  day. 
Its  bowels  became  immediately  deranged,  the  stools 
green,  high  fever  and  convulsions  supervened,  and  the 
child  died  in  great  agony  in  less  than  three  days  with  all 
the  symptoms  of  violent  inflammation  of  the  bowels." 

Dr.  A.  Combe,  in  his  treatise  on  TJie  Ma7iagement 
of  Infancy,  also  gives  several  instances  where  the 
mammary  secretions  have  acquired  an  actually 
poisonous  character  due  to  violent  mental  excite- 
ment. A  mother  just  recovering  from  a  state  of 
fright,  he  tells  us,  "took  up  her  child  from  the 
cradle,  where  it  lay  playing  and  in  most  perfect 
health,  never  having  had  a  moment's  illness.  She 
gave  it  the  breast  and  in  so  doing  sealed  its  fate. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  infant  left  off  sucking,  became 
restless,  panted,  and  sank  dead  upon  its  mother's 
bosom." 

K 


1 62     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Many  similar  cases  are  reported  from  other 
sources.  Dr.  Carpenter,  in  his  Mental  Physiology, 
gives  an  instance  from  his  own  practice.  A  mother 
who  a  few  moments  before  had  heard  of  the  sudden 
death  of  the  infant  child  of  an  intimate  friend  took  up 
her  own  child,  nursed  it,  and  laid  it  back  in  the  cradle 
apparently  in  perfect  health.  Immediately  it  went 
into  convulsions  and  expired.  There  is  abundant 
evidence,  he  says,  in  commenting  upon  this  case, 
"that  a  sudden  and  violent  excitement  of  some  de- 
pressing emotion,  especially  terror,  may  produce  a 
severe  and  even  a  fatal  disturbance  of  the  organic 
functions,  with  general  symptoms  so  strongly  re- 
sembling those  of  sedative  poisoning  as  to  make  it 
highly  probable  that  the  blood  is  directly  affected 
by  the  emotional  state  through  nervous  agency." 

A  most  remarkable  case  of  external  injury  to  the 
body  due  to  great  mental  excitement  and  one  often 
quoted  in  this  connection  is  given  by  Dr.  Carter  in 
his  Pathology  and  Treatment  of  Hysteria  (p.  24).  He 
describes  it  as  follows: 


"  A  lady  who  was  watching  her  little  child  at  play  saw 
a  heavy  window  sash  fall  upon  its  hand,  cutting  off  three 
of  the  fingers;  and  she  was  so  much  overcome  by  fright 
and  distress  as  to  be  unable  to  render  it  any  assistance. 
A  surgeon  was  speedily  obtained  who,  having  dressed  the 
wounds,  turned  himself  to  the  mother  whom  he  found 
seated  moaning  and  complaining  of  pain  in  her  hand. 
On  examination  three  fingers,  corresponding  to  those  in- 
jured in  the  child,  were  discovered  to  be  swollen  and  in- 
flamed, although  they  had  ailed  nothing  prior  to   the 


The  Mind  and  Disease  163 

accident.  In  four-and-twenty  hours  incisions  were  made 
into  them  and  pus  was  evacuated;  sloughs  were  after- 
wards discharged  and  the  wounds  ultimately  healed." 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  many  persons  are  so 
sensitive  even  to  the  sight  of  a  sprained  ankle  or  a 
troublesome  sore  on  the  finger  that  they  immedi- 
ately experience  severe  pains  in  the  corresponding 
parts  of  their  own  body,  although  there  be  no  sign 
there  whatever  of  any  external  injury.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  medical  students  often  faint  away  at 
the  mere  sight  of  blood  when  they  witness  their  first 
surgical  clinic,  and  it  is  not  infrequently  the  case 
that  they  come  to  suffer  from  the  very  disease  about 
which  they  are  studying,  even  a  picture  of  the  dis- 
eased part  being  in  some  instances  sufficient  to  begin 
the  production  of  its  symptoms.  Dr.  Goddard,  of 
Clarke  University,  in  his  excellent  paper  on  "  Effects 
of  Mind  on  Body,"  published  in  the  Anierica7i  Jour- 
nal of  Psychology  for  April,  1899,  tells  us  that  one  of 
the  most  prominent  physicians  in  Chicago  wrote  him 
recently  that  on  one  occasion,  after  having  worked 
a  long  time  on  a  difficult  case  that  had  been  given 
up  by  several  other  physicians,  he  discovered  symp- 
toms of  duodenal  catarrh  that  they  had  overlooked. 
And  being  very  anxious  to  succeed  in  his  treatment 
of  this  trouble  with  all  its  attendant  complications 
he  immediately  after  supper  lay  down  on  a  couch  to 
read  a  recent  work  on  the  subject.  Soon  he  fell 
asleep  from  sheer  exhaustion  with  his  mind  "full  of 
the  pathology,  symptomatology,  etiology,  and  treat- 
ment of  such  conditions.     In  two  hours  he  awoke 


164     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

with  an  intense  duodenal  catarrh  that  lasted  several 
days  before  he  could  get  it  under  control." 

There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  wonder- 
ful cases  of  stigmatisation  recorded  in  history  have 
been  produced  in  a  similar  manner.  Among  the 
most  famous  of  these  cases,  with  the  exception  per- 
haps of  Louise  Lateau,  described  in  Chapter  VI.,  is 
that  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi.  By  constant  thought 
upon  the  physical  suffering  of  Jesus  it  is  asserted 
that  he  caused  actual  wounds  to  appear  upon  his 
own  hands  and  side  and  feet  very  similar  to  those 
upon  the  body  of  Jesus.  From  what  we  now  know 
of  the  possible  effects  of  the  mind  upon  the  body  we 
have  little  ground  for  maintaining  that  the  pheno- 
mena in  his  case  were  unreal. 

While  the  cases  cited  above  are  of  course  extra- 
ordinary and  not  likely  often  to  occur,  there  is  no 
denying  the  fact  that  there  are  many  diseases  that 
can  be  induced  by  mere  power  of  thought.  Some 
slight  disagreeable  sensation  is  at  first  fancied  to  be 
a  sign  of  the  disease  and  then  the  attention  is  so 
continuously  concentrated  upon  it  that  it  actually 
results  in  bringing  on  the  malady.  In  this  way 
epidemics  of  disease  sometimes  sweep  over  a  com- 
munity, even  though  the  disease  in  question  be  not 
in  itself  of  a  contagious  character.  Manias  of  all 
sorts  have  had  their  origin  in  the  power  of  a  domin- 
ant idea.  Such  was  the  dancing  mania  that  spread 
through  the  central  part  of  Europe  the  latter  part  of 
the  fourteenth  century. 

An  oft-quoted  description  of  it  is  given  in  Heck- 
er's  work  on  Epidemics  of  the  Middle  Ages : 


The  Mind  and  Disease  165 

"  Where  the  disease  was  completely  developed,"  says 
Dr.  Hecker,  "  the  attack  commenced  with  epileptic  con- 
vulsions. Those  affected  fell  to  the  ground  senseless, 
panting  and  labouring  for  breath.  They  foamed  at  the 
mouth,  and  suddenly  springing  up  began  their  dance 
amidst  strange  contortions.  A  few  months  after  this 
dancing  malady  made  its  appearance  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
it  broke  out  at  Cologne,  where  the  number  of  those  pos- 
sessed amounted  to  more  than  five  hundred;  and  about 
the  same  time  at  Metz,  the  streets  of  which  place  are  said 
to  have  been  filled  with  eleven  hundred  dancers.  Peas- 
ants left  their  ploughs,  mechanics  their  workshops, 
housewives  their  domestic  duties,  to  join  the  wild  revels; 
and  this  rich  commercial  city  became  the  scene  of  the 
most  ruinous  disorder. 

"  The  St.  Vitus's  dance  attacked  people  of  all  stations, 
especially  those  who  led  a  sedentary  life,  such  as  shoe- 
makers and  tailors;  but  even  the  most  robust  peasants 
abandoned  their  labours  in  their  fields,  as  if  they  were 
possessed  by  evil  spirits;  and  those  afflicted  were  seen 
assembling  indiscriminately,  from  time  to  time,  at  certain 
apj)ointed  places,  and,  unless  prevented  by  the  lookers- 
on,  continued  to  dance  without  intermission,  until  their 
very  last  breath  was  expended.  Their  fury  and  extrava- 
gance of  demeanour  so  completely  deprived  them  of  their 
senses  that  many  of  them  dashed  their  brains  out  against 
the  walls  and  corners  of  buildings,  or  rushed  headlong 
into  rapid  rivers,  where  they  found  a  watery  grave." 

In  the  fourteenth  century  the  biting  mania  had  a 
somew^hat  similar  course.  It  broke  out  in  the  nun- 
neries of  Germany  and  spread  even  as  far  as  Rome. 
Among  savages  manias  of  all  sorts  are  unusually 


i66    Psychology  and  Common  Life 

common,  the  expectation  that  a  particular  malady 
will  result  from  a  particular  word  or  gesture  actually 
producing  the  malady  itself.  Among  the  negroes  of 
the  British  West  Indies  it  was  found  necessary  to  sup- 
press what  were  known  as  obeah  practises  by  strin- 
gent legislation.  For  many  pined  away  and  died 
from  the  belief  that  some  old  man  or  woman  had 
put  obi  upon  them  from  the  evil  effects  of  which  it 
was  impossible  to  escape. 

Dr.  Noble  has  recorded  the  following  experience 
of  a  soldier  in  Napoleon's  army  by  the  name  of 
Boutibonne,  who  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Wagram.  About  sunset,  as  he  was  reloading  his 
musket,  he  was  shot  down  by  a  cannon-ball,  both 
legs,  as  he  supposed,  being  taken  from  him.  He 
lay  motionless  till  morning,  not  daring  to  stir  lest 
he  should  bleed  to  death.  At  early  dawn  a  medical 
officer  came  to  him  to  see  if  he  could  be  of  any  serv- 
ice. The  wounded  man  whispered  that  both  his 
legs  were  gone  and  he  could  not  hold  out  much 
longer.  The  doctor  made  an  examination  and  as- 
sured him  that  his  legs  were  uninjured.  Almost 
immediately  he  leaped  to  his  feet  in  utter  amaze- 
ment at  the  thought,  grabbed  up  his  musket,  and 
hurried  back  to  camp.  All  that  had  really  hap- 
pened to  him  was  that  a  cannon-ball  had  carried 
away  the  ground  underneath  his  feet  and  he  had 
fallen  into  the  trench  that  had  been  suddenly  made 
by  it. 

Professor  Bennett,  of  Edinburgh  University, 
vouches  for  the  following  as  having  occurred  within 
his  personal  knowledge : 


The  Mind  and  Disease  167 

"  A  butcher,"  he  says,  "  was  brought  into  the  shop  of 
Mr.  Macfarlan,  the  druggist  (on  North  Bridge  Street), 
from  the  market-place  opposite,  labouring  under  a  ter- 
rible accident.  The  man  on  trying  to  hook  up  a  heavy 
piece  of  meat  above  his  head,  slipped  and  the  sharp  hook 
penetrated  his  arm  so  that  he  was  suspended  by  it.  On 
being  examined  he  was  pale,  almost  pulseless,  and  ex- 
pressed himself  as  suffering  acute  agony.  The  arm  could 
not  be  moved  without  causing  excessive  pain;  and  in 
cutting  off  the  sleeve,  he  frequently  cried  out;  yet  when 
the  arm  was  exposed,  it  was  found  to  be  quite  uninjured, 
the  hook  having  only  traversed  the  sleeve  of  his  coat." 

There  are  a  number  of  instances  on  record  in 
which  the  influence  of  an  excited  state  of  mind  upon 
the  body  has  actually  resulted  in  death.  The  fol- 
lowing vouched  for  by  Bjornstrom  are  in  point : 

"  Quite  recently  a  medico-legal  examination  was  made 
of  a  woman  who  was  supposed  to  have  shortened  her  life 
by  poison.  The  investigation  brought  to  light  the  fact 
that  she  had  taken  perfectly  harmless  insect-powder  in 
the  belief  that  it  was  a  deadly  poison,  and  as  no  other 
cause  of  death  was  found,  it  must  be  supposed  that  her 
imagination  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  powder  caused  her 
death. 

"  With  the  consent  of  Napoleon  III.,  a  scientist  had  a 
criminal  tied  to  a  table  with  his  eyes  blindfolded  under 
pretext  that  he  was  going  to  open  the  man's  carotid 
artery  and  let  him  bleed  to  death.  With  a  needle  he 
made  a  slight  scratch  on  the  criminal's  neck  and  had 
water  dropping  into  a  vessel  that  stood  beneath  while 
all   around  an  awful  silence    prevailed.      The    victim, 


1 68     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

believing  that  he  heard  his  life-blood  flowing  away,  died 
after  six  minutes. 

"A  horrible  joke  by  some  Scotch  students  produced 
the  same  result.  A  disagreeable  janitor  was  one  night 
lured  into  a  room  where  he  was  solemnly  tried  and  sen- 
tenced to  death  by  decapitation.  The  terrified  man  was 
led  into  a  corner  and  placed  on  a  block  beside  which 
stood  a  sharp  axe;  after  his  eyes  had  been  blindfolded 
he  was  given  a  blow  on  the  neck  with  a  wet  towel,  and 
when  they  lifted  him  up  he  was  dead." 

Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley,  of  New  York,  describes  a 
similar  case  known  to  him  as  follows : 

"  A  young  man  nineteen  years  of  age,  a  student  in  a 
large  seminary  about  sixty  miles  from  New  York,  was 
strongly  attached  to  a  teacher.  The  teacher  died  to  the 
great  grief  of  the  student.  Sometime  afterward  the 
young  man  dreamed  that  the  teacher  appeared  to  him 
and  notified  him  that  he  would  die  on  a  certain  day  and 
hour.  He  informed  his  mother  and  friends  of  the 
dream,  and  expressed  a  firm  belief  that  when  that  time 
came  he  should  die.  The  family  considered  it  a  delu- 
sion ;  and  as  no  alarming  change  took  place  in  his  health, 
they  were  not  worried.  When  the  day  arrived  they  no- 
ticed nothing  unusual;  but  after  dining  and  seeming  to 
enjoy  the  meal  and  to  be  quite  cheerful,  he  went  to  his 
room,  lay  down,  and  died  without  a  struggle  "  (Article, 
"  Dreams,"  etc..  Century,  July,  1888). 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  only  those  facts 
which  tend  to  show  the  power  of  the  mind  to  cause 
disease  in  the  bodily  organism.  We  next  need  to 
direct  our  attention  to  a  similar  set  of  facts  illustrat- 


The  Mind  and  Disease  169 

ing  its  power  to  mitigate  or  cure  disease,  however  it 
may  have  been  occasioned. 

And  in  the  first  place  we  will  consider  some  well- 
authenticated  cases  of  the  exertion  of  this  power  in 
ordinary  wakefulness.  Dr.  Carpenter,  writing  about 
the  famous  English  preacher,  Robert  Hall,  says : 

"  Some  of  Robert  Hall's  most  eloquent  discourses  were 
poured  forth  whilst  he  was  suffering  under  a  bodily  dis- 
order which  caused  him  to  roll  in  agony  on  the  floor 
when  he  descended  from  the  pulpit;  yet  he  was  entirely 
unconscious  of  the  irritation  of  his  nerves  by  the  calculus 
which  shot  forth  its  jagged  points  through  the  whole  sub- 
stance of  his  kidneys,  so  long  as  his  soul  continued  to  be 
possessed  by  the  great  subjects  on  which  a  powerful 
effort  of  his  will  originally  fixed  it." 

Similar  experiences  are  related  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Lockhart,  in  his  Life  of  Scott,  gives  us  the  following 
account  of  some  of  them  : 

"  John  Ballantyne  (whom  Scott,  while  suffering  under 
a  prolonged  and  painful  illness,  employed  as  his  amanu- 
ensis) told  me  that  though  Scott  often  turned  himself  on 
his  pillow  with  a  groan  of  torment,  he  usually  continued 
the  sentence  in  the  same  breath.  But  when  dialogue  of 
peculiar  animation  was  in  progress,  spirit  seemed  to  tri- 
umph altogether  over  matter;  he  arose  from  his  couch, 
and  walked  up  and  down  the  room,  raising  and  lowering 
his  voice  and,  as  it  were,  acting  the  parts.  It  was  in  this 
fashion  that  Scott  produced  the  far  greater  portion  of  the 
Bride  of  Lammermoor,  the  whole  of  the  Legend  of  Mon- 
trose, and  almost  the  whole  of  Lvanhoe.*' 


I70     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

General  Horace  K.  Porter  told  the  present  writer 
that  for  two  days  before  the  surrender  of  Lee,  Gen- 
eral Grant  suffered  so  intensely  from  pains  in  the 
head  that  he  was  entirely  unable  to  eat  or  sleep. 
He  spent  the  whole  night  previous  to  the  surrender 
walking  up  and  down  the  road  in  front  of  the  farm- 
house where  his  aides  were  resting,  holding  his  hands 
to  his  head  and  often  groaning  aloud  with  anguish. 
At  early  dawn  they  helped  him  into  his  saddle  and 
almost  held  him  in  his  place  as  they  rode  on  to  meet 
the  enemy.  Presently  a  messenger  from  Lee  came 
into  sight  with  a  note  for  Grant.  He  slowly  dis- 
mounted from  his  horse,  sat  down  on  a  stone  by 
the  wayside,  and  opened  it.  It  contained  just  a 
sentence  or  two  asking  for  the  conditions  of  surren- 
der. Grant  immediately  jumped  into  his  saddle, 
put  the  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  rode  off  so  rapidly 
that  his  aides  had  hard  work  to  keep  up  with  him, 
declaring  that  he  never  felt  better  in  his  life. 

The  physicians  of  Green,  the  famous  English  his- 
torian, declared  that  he  kept  himself  alive  for  five 
months  after  they  had  given  him  up  by  sheer  force 
of  will  while  he  was  composing  the  Making  of  Eng- 
land dind  the  Conquest  of  England.  One  of  the  critics 
of  his  work  at  this  period  declares  that  "the  style  is 
serene  and  easy  and  the  breadth  and  vigour  of  his 
generalisations  his  very  best." 

When  Lieutenant  Greely  was  asked  how  he  and 
some  of  his  followers  kept  themselves  alive  during 
their  extraordinary  sufferings  in  the  north  polar 
regions  during  the  winter  of  1883  he  replied:  "Our 
minds  did  it.     I  thought  I  must  do  it."     Before  the 


The  Mind  and  Disease  171 

discovery  of  chloroform  patients  not  infrequently 
went  through  the  severest  operations  and  declared 
afterwards  that  they  felt  no  pain  whatever,  so  utterly 
absorbed  were  they  in  other  thoughts.  Such  has 
been  the  testimony  of  many  a  martyr.  Instances 
have  occurred  where  the  agony  of  being  burned  at 
the  stake  was  endured  with  the  calmest  serenity  ow- 
ing to  the  engrossing  attention  that  was  being  given 
to  the  beatific  visions  of  coming  blessedness. 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  power  of  the  mind 
over  the  body  is  shown  in  the  fire  walk  which  just 
at  present  is  attracting  so  much  interest.  This  is  a 
religious  rite  still  practised  by  certain  Orientals  and 
has  recently  been  described  by  a  number  of  com- 
petent witnesses.  In  the  island  of  Mauritius,  some 
five  hundred  miles  east  of  Madagascar,  the  ceremony 
occurs  on  the  ist  of  January,  and  is  carried  out 
under  the  supervision  of  the  police,  who  see  that  no 
women  take  part  in  it  and  that  no  children  are  car- 
ried through  the  fire  by  their  fathers.  The  day  on 
which  the  event  takes  place  is  a  holiday  and  crowds 
of  people  collect  to  look  on. 

Mrs.  Mary  J.  S.  Schwabe  describes  the  scene  in 
the  Jotirnal  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  for 
December,  1901,  as  she  saw  it  in  1896  and  1897: 

"A  wide  shallow  trench,"  she  says,  "about  a  foot 
deep,  twelve  feet  wide,  and  fifteen  yards  long  is  prepared 
beforehand,  and  on  it  are  placed  large  piles  of  wood 
which,  when  I  arrived  on  the  last  occasion,  were  still  burn- 
ing fiercely;  we  therefore  had  to  wait  till  the  piles  had 
burned  down  and  become  masses  of  red-hot  embers. 


172     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Some  men  then  came  with  long  wooden  rakes  and  raked 
the  embers  until  they  were  spread  over  the  whole  surface 
of  the  trench  to  a  depth  of  several  inches.  The  radiant 
heat  given  out  was  so  great  that  it  was  almost  unbearable 
when  we  stood  at  a  distance  of  several  yards  from  the 
trench. 

"  A  young  goat  was  then  brought  to  the  edge  of  the 
trench,  its  head  severed  with  one  stroke  of  a  sword,  and 
the  body  dragged  swiftly  round  the  furnace  as  a  sacrifice 
to  the  goddess  Kali.  This  did  not  occupy  more  than  a 
few  seconds  and  the  devotees  at  once  advanced,  led  by 
the  priest  of  the  temple.  He,  like  the  others,  was  en- 
tirely naked  with  the  exception  of  wreaths  of  flowers  and 
leaves  round  neck  and  waist,  and  carried  a  kind  of  raised 
plateau  of  flowers  in  his  hands.  He  stepped  boldly  on 
the  embers,  walked  slowly  from  one  end  of  the  trench  to 
the  other,  pausing  once  or  twice  to  turn  round  and  round 
as  in  a  dance,  and  having  reached  the  other  side,  stood 
there  calmly  awaiting  the  others,  and  holding  the  flowery 
erection  above  his  head,  a  fine  and  picturesque  figure. 
He  was  closely  followed  by  the  other  devotees,  some 
twelve  in  number,  who  crossed  in  turn;  two  or  three 
looked  as  if  wound  up  to  the  deed  by  religious  frenzy, 
and  one  as  if  under  the  influence  of  bhang  or  similar 
narcotic,  but  the  majority  maintained  their  ordinary 
aspect,  and  none  showed  signs  of  visible  suffering.  Two 
or  three  women  in  yellow  draperies  rushed  forward,  but 
were  seized  by  the  police  and  removed  after  a  violent 
struggle.  Just  beyond  the  farther  edge  of  the  trench  a 
small  pool,  or  rather  puddle  of  water  lay  on  the  ground 
and  some,  but  not  all,  walked  through  it  on  coming  out 
of  the  trench." 

The  walk  is  nearly  always  undertaken,  she  tells  us, 


The  Mind  and  Disease  173 

in  fulfilment  of  a  vow  made  to  obtain  the  recovery 
of  some  relative,  and  in  such  circumstances  the 
natives  assert  that  the  fire  never  hurts. 

Mr.  John  Piddington,  who  resided  for  nearly  fifty 
years  in  Mauritius,  in  commenting  upon  Mrs. 
Schwabe's  account  of  the  fire  walk,  adds  a  number 
of  important  facts  {^Journal  of  the  Society  for  Psychi- 
cal Research,  June,  1902,  pp.  251,  252).  Among 
others  that  there  is  a  trench  of  water  eight  or  ten 
inches  deep  before  the  fire  is  reached  as  well  as 
after;  that  the  men  who  are  to  walk  through  the 
fire  are  Indians  who  have  never  worn  shoes,  and, 
being  the  most  indefatigable  walkers  on  earth,  have 
the  soles  of  their  feet  covered  with  horn  of  enormous 
thickness ;  and  that  all  who  undertake  to  carry  out 
the  rite  are  required  to  go  through  a  rigorous  men- 
tal training  of  a  fortnight.  As  a  result  their  minds 
are  excited  on  the  day  of  the  fire  walk  to  a  state 
bordering  on  frenzy. 

"When  the  time  comes,"  he  continues,  "they  first 
walk  through  the  water  trench  before  the  fire,  then  on  to 
the  embers,  over  which  they  pass  more  or  less  rapidly, 
and  then  through  the  second  pool.  Then  they  go  away 
in  a  state  of  collapse  to  be  nursed.  Some  are  weak- 
kneed,  and  try  to  get  out  of  the  hot  trench  before  the 
end.  These  are  beaten  back  with  sticks  by  the  priests, 
who  stand  by  the  trench." 

Some  striking  accounts  of  the  fire  walk  as  prac- 
tised in  many  different  countries  are  given  by  An- 
drew Lang  in  his  paper  on  the  subject  published  in 


174     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research 
for  February,  1900,  noticeably  one  by  Colonel  Gud- 
geon, British  Resident  at  Raratonga,  and  a  like 
account  by  Dr.  T.  M.  Hocken,  of  the  Fiji  fire  cere- 
mony, witnessed  by  him  in  1898. 

In  the  Journal  of  the  Society  for  October,  1901, 
is  reprinted  in  full  a  letter  that  appeared  in  Nature 
for  August  22nd  of  the  same  year  from  the  pen  of 
Professor  S.  P.  Langley,  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution at  Washington,  giving  an  account  of  the  cere- 
mony as  he  had  recently  observed  it  in  Tahiti. 
"While  he  has  conclusively  proved  that  the  stones 
that  the  priest  and  his  followers  walked  upon  were 
not  red-hot  all  over  as  they  appeared  to  be,  and 
fully  established  his  point  that  it  was  not  a  miracle, 
the  Tahiti  case  by  no  means  sets  aside  the  evidence 
that  the  heat  of  the  material  trodden  upon  by  these 
fire-walkers  is  often  so  intense  as  to  char  the  skin  of 
a  human  being  coming  into  contact  with  it  under 
normal  conditions.  These  cases  taken  together 
establish  the  position  beyond  reasonable  doubt  that 
the  mind  by  "faith,"  or  "full  assurance,"  or 
"mania,"  or  whatever  you  may  please  to  call  it, 
can  for  a  time  to  some  extent  avert  the  destruction 
of  the  tissues  of  the  body  that  would  otherwise 
follow. 

When  we  turn  to  cases  illustrating  the  power  of 
the  mind  in  hypnotic  sleep  to  check  or  dispel  the 
pains  of  the  body  a  striking  array  of  most  remark- 
able phenomena  meets  our  gaze.  Among  the  many 
cases  reported  by  the  famous  Paris  physician  and 
psychiater,   Voisin,   as  havmg  been  treated  at  the 


The  Mind  and  Disease  175 

great  hospital  of  La  Salpetriere  by  hypnotic  sug- 
gestion are  the  following:  An  hysterical  woman, 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  who  was  suffering  from 
maniacal  attacks,  hallucinations  of  hearing,  and  de- 
lirium, was  cured  entirely  of  her  troubles  by  being 
thrown  into  an  hypnotic  state  at  the  beginning  of 
her  attacks  and  kept  asleep  for  ten  or  twelve  hours. 
At  first  it  took  two  hours  or  more  to  hypnotise  her 
by  making  her  stare  continuously  at  her  index  finger 
held  just  above  the  root  of  her  nose.  But  later  it 
was  easier  to  do  it  and  soon  she  became  healthy  and 
normal  and  secured  a  good  position  as  a  nurse. 

Another  woman,  twenty-five  years  of  age,  suffering 
from  similar  troubles,  but  much  more  violent,  was 
hypnotised  after  great  exertion  and  kept  asleep  for 
seven  days  and  nights,  except  for  half  an  hour  each 
day  when  she  was  given  a  little  nourishment.  In 
a  short  time  she  fully  recovered  and  was  given  a 
position  in  the  hospital  as  a  laundress. 

Another  hysterical  woman,  forty-eight  years  of 
age,  with  severe  melancholia,  hallucinations  of  sight 
and  hearing,  and  a  strong  suicidal  tendency,  was 
relieved  of  all  these  symptoms  and  became  well 
through  suggestion  under  hypnosis.  Voisin  hyp- 
notised a  woman  whose  arm  had  been  paralysed  for 
six  months  and  whose  wrist  and  fingers  were  so  bent 
inward  by  contracture  that  the  long  nails  had  made 
deep  wounds  in  her  hand,  with  the  result  that  he 
finally  made  her  in  her  sleep  straighten  out  her  fin- 
gers and  move  the  diseased  arm  as  easily  as  the 
sound  one.  The  arm,  of  course,  had  not  lost  feeling 
and  the  muscles  had  not  atrophied. 


176     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Many  other  French  physicians  have  made  much  use 
of  hypnotism  in  similar  cases,  and  they  report  equally 
favourable  results.  They  have  also  paid  much  at- 
tention to  the  application  of  hypnotism  to  alcohol- 
ism and  dipsomania.  Segard,  giving  an  account  of 
some  of  his  experiments  in  the  hospital  of  Toulon, 
reports  a  number  of  cases  like  the  following:  Mr. 
T.,  an  habitual  drunkard  of  several  years'  standing, 
was  brought  to  the  hospital  suffering  from  gastro- 
enteritis and  delirium  tremens.  On  the  31st  of 
August,  when  the  first  attempt  to  hypnotise  him 
was  made,  it  resulted  in  failure,  but  later,  however, 
he  was  successfully  thrown  into  a  deep  hypnotic 
sleep  and  treated  by  suggestion.  This  was  done 
several  times  during  the  month  of  September.  By 
the  1st  of  October  he  was  dismissed  as  in  a  normal 
condition  with  a  strong  disinclination  to  taste  of 
liquor  imparted  by  suggestion.  How  long  he  held 
out  against  the  old  desire  is  not  known.  Another 
chronic  alcoholic,  forty-eight  years  old,  was  ad- 
mitted on  September  18,  1886,  for  "hallucination  of 
three  months'  standing;  dangerous  to  himself  and 
family,"  and  treated  by  the  same  method.  On 
September  29th  he  was  dismissed  as  cured. 

Voisin,  in  1887,  published  an  account  of  four 
cases  of  dipsomania  cured  by  this  process.  One  of 
them  was  a  man  of  Rouen,  thirty-five  years  old,  who 
had  had  regular  attacks  of  dipsomania  of  ten  days 
each  twice  a  month  for  ten  years.  In  two  days  he 
succeeded  in  curing  him  by  hypnotic  suggestion  so 
thoroughly  that  no  return  of  the  attack  occurred  for 
at  least  two  years.     A  woman  of  noble  family,  who 


The  Mind  and  Disease  177 

had  suffered  from  violent  attacks  of  alcoholism  for 
several  years,  was  cured  by  the  same  treatment  in 
about  a  month  and  restored  to  her  family  in  the  full 
possession  of  her  powers.  At  the  second  inter- 
national congress  against  the  abuse  of  alcoholic 
liquors,  opened  in  Zurich  on  the  9th  of  September, 
1887,  Forel  and  Ladame  reported  several  cases  of 
dipsomania  of  long  standing  that  they  had  cured 
by  means  of  hypnotic  suggestion.  Bjornstrom  also 
began  to  employ  this  mode  of  treatment  about  the 
same  time  with  marked  success,  and  in  all  civilised 
lands  it  continues  to  be  used  more  and  more. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  British  Medical  As- 
sociation, held  in  Edinburgh,  July,  1898,  Dr.  J. 
Milne  Bramwell  reported  to  the  association  the 
results  of  his  use  of  hypnotic  suggestion  in  curing 
disease.  Among  the  cases  he  outlined,  which  were 
abundantly  corroborated  by  independent  witnesses, 
were  the  following :  A  woman  forty-nine  years  of  age 
had  suffered  from  pruritis  and  eczema  for  four  years. 
She  had  had  the  best  of  treatment,  but  it  was  of 
no  avail.  The  disease  was  supposed  to  be  due  to 
an  organic  trouble  which  disturbed  the  circulation. 
An  operation  to  remove  this  trouble  only  made  the 
disease  worse.  All  other  treatment  being  aban- 
doned, Dr.  Bramwell  in  August,  1889,  tried  hypnotic 
suggestion.  Sixty-six  unsuccessful  attempts  were 
made  to  hypnotise  the  patient  during  the  next  four 
months,  the  only  result  being  that  the  disease  grew 
steadily  worse.  The  sixty-eighth  attempt  suc- 
ceeded. All  irritation  immediately  vanished  and 
quiet,  refreshing  sleep  followed.     All  signs  of  the 


178     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

disease  disappeared  within  two  weeks,  and  three 
years  after  there  was  no  indication  of  its  return. 

Another  case  was  that  of  a  girl,  fifteen  years  of 
age,  who  had  on  the  back  of  the  left  arm  just  above 
the  wrist  a  patch  of  skin  two  and  a  half  inches  long 
by  one  and  a  half  broad,  from  which  perspiration 
constantly  exuded.  This  trouble  had  existed  from 
early  childhood.  It  was  greatly  increased  by  ex- 
ertion or  emotion,  and  although  the  forearm  was 
always  enveloped  in  a  thick  bandage  the  perspira- 
tion was  so  profuse  that  it  was  constantly  dripping 
upon  the  floor.  No  other  means  being  found  to 
stop  it,  resort  was  had  to  hypnotism.  After  two 
treatments  the  wound  healed  up  and  during  two 
years  preceding  the  report  there  had  been  no  re- 
lapse. 

A  lawyer,  thirty-four  years  of  age,  who  in  early 
life  had  been  healthy  and  athletic,  was  brought  to 
Dr.  Bramwell  for  treatment  June  2,  1890.  His 
health  began  to  fail  in  the  fall  of  1877,  after  an  at- 
tack of  typhoid  fever.  In  1882  he  abandoned  all 
work  and  became  a  chronic  invalid.  He  suffered 
constantly  from  anaemia,  dyspepsia,  and  insomnia, 
frequently  had  suicidal  impulses,  and  once  attempted 
suicide.  Whenever  he  tried  to  exert  himself  he  ex- 
perienced the  most  acute  pains  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  spine,  and  he  could  not  walk  a  hundred  yards 
without  intense  suffering.  He  had  always  received 
excellent  medical  treatment  and  had  even  tried 
six  months  of  rest-cure,  but  all  to  no  avail.  From 
June  2nd  to  September  20th  of  1890,  he  was  fre- 
quently hypnotised  by  Dr.  Bramwell.     By  the  end 


The  Mind  and  Disease  179 

of  July  all  the  morbid  symptoms  had  vanished  and 
he  was  strong  enough  to  go  to  work  on  a  farm.  No 
relapse  has  since  occurred,  and  he  can  now  walk  forty 
miles  a  day  without  unusual  fatigue. 

On  April  30,  1890,  a  Mr.  E.,  a  dipsomaniac, 
thirty-three  years  of  age,  came  under  Dr.  Bram- 
well's  care.  Mr.  E.  had  inherited  a  strong  tendency 
to  intemperance  and  at  seventeen  began  drinking  to 
excess.  After  many  attempts  to  reform  and  many 
failures  he  finally,  in  1887,  was  placed  in  a  retreat 
for  a  year.  But  on  leaving  he  betook  himself  to 
drinking  worse  than  ever.  Any  slight  physical  pain 
or  mental  trouble  would  start  a  drinking  bout,  and 
he  had  one  of  these  on  the  average  once  a  week. 
Dr.  Bramwell  treated  him  at  once  by  hypnotic  sug- 
gestion and  up  to  May  17,  1890,  he  was  kept  sober 
in  this  way.  On  returning  home  he  relapsed  in  less 
than  a  month  and  seemed  as  incurable  as  ever.  But 
he  was  again  hypnotised  daily  for  a  week  and  since 
July  I,  1890,  has  shown  no  signs  of  giving  way  to  his 
old  habit. 

Another  dipsomaniac,  aged  forty-seven,  who  had 
been  an  habitual  drunkard  for  seventeen  years,  and 
had  had  three  attacks  of  delirium  tremens  and 
several  of  epilepsy.  Dr.  Bramwell  hypnotised  for 
the  first  time  on  April  22,  1895,  and  he  has  not 
since  relapsed. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  cases  he  reported  was 
that  of  a  Miss  F.,  aged  twenty-eight,  who  came  to 
him  July  17,  1896.  She  had  been  suffering  for  five 
years  with  neuralgia  of  the  leg  supposed  to  be  due 
to  sciatica.     During  the  first  two  years  of  her  illness 


i8o     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

she  never  walked  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  finally 
abandoned  all  attempts  to  walk  and  took  to  a  roll- 
ing-chair. She  tried  almost  every  kind  of  treatment 
in  succession, —  rest-cure  for  two  months,  careful 
drugging.  Weir  Mitchell,  massage,  electricity,  baths, 
and  Paquelin's  cautery  to  the  leg,  of  which  she  had 
seventy  applications  daily  from  July,  1895,  to  May, 
1896,  amounting  in  all  to  about  twenty  thousand. 
Meantime  her  condition  grew  steadily  worse  and 
her  case  was  considered  incurable.  In  her  des- 
peration she  was  persuaded  to  try  hypnotism.  Dr. 
Bramwell  treated  her  for  the  first  time  on  July  17, 
1896.  In  two  days  she  completely  recovered  and 
soon  learned  to  ride  a  bicycle.  She  has  remained 
ever  since  well  and  active. 

Dr.  Bramwell  also  referred  to  a  number  of  pain- 
less dental  operations  performed  in  March,  1890,  by 
Mr.  Turner,  of  Leeds,  on  some  of  his  patients  after 
being  hypnotised,  accounts  of  which  are  recorded  in 
the  Jourfial  of  the  British  Dental  Association.  The 
most  notable  case  was  that  of  a  girl  suffering  from 
valvular  disease  of  the  heart  from  whom  five  teeth 
were  extracted  without  pain. 

On  March  25,  1890,  some  of  Dr.  Bramwell's  pa- 
tients were  taken  to  Leeds  and  operated  upon  in 
the  presence  of  some  sixty  medical  men,  among 
them  such  eminent  surgeons  as  Pridgin  Teale  and 
Mayo  Robson.  A  delicate  girl  was  put  to  sleep  by 
a  written  order  from  Dr.  Bramwell  and  sixteen  of 
her  teeth  extracted  without  pain.  There  was  no 
corneal  reflex  and  the  pulse  fell  during  the  opera- 
tion.    A  boy  of  eight  was  operated  upon  by  Dr. 


The  Mind  and  Disease  i8i 

Mayo  Robson  for  exostosis  of  the  great  toe,  after 
first  being  hypnotised.  The  surgeon  first  performed 
evulsion  of  the  great-toe  nail,  then  cut  out  the  bony 
growth  and  a  part  of  the  first  phalanx.  None  of 
the  patients  suffered  any  pain  afterwards  from  the 
operations,  although  they  all  returned  home  the 
same  day,  and  the  healing  of  the  wounds  in  every 
case  was  remarkably  rapid. 

In  the  discussion  that  followed  Dr.  Bramwell's 
report,  Dr.  David  Fellowlees,  Physician  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Glasgow  Royal  Asylum,  expressed 
his  high  appreciation  of  Dr.  Bramwell's  work,  and 
said  that  his  own  experience  enabled  him  to  believe 
in  the  extraordinary  cures  that  had  been  related  by 
him. 

Dr.  John  F.  Woods,  Medical  Superintendent  of 
the  Hoxton  House  Asylum,  London,  stated  that  he 
had  treated  over  one  thousand  cases  by  hypnotic 
suggestion  and  had  found  it  exceedingly  efficacious 
not  only  for  functional  nervous  diseases,  but  for  a 
much  wider  field.  As  the  nervous  system,  he  said, 
is  implicated  in  almost  all  diseases,  in  so  far  as  we 
can  influence  it  for  good  we  can  benefit  the  disease. 
It  was  his  opinion  that  hypnotic  suggestion  could 
be  applied  with  advantage  even  to  organic  heart  dis- 
ease. It  soothed  the  nervous  system,  secured  sleep, 
and  removed  pain,  thus  improving  greatly  the  pa- 
tient's condition.  Moreover,  he  said,  we  can  pro- 
duce a  direct  and  specific  effect  upon  the  heart 
by  placing  one  hand  upon  the  epigastrium  and  sug- 
gesting that  the  heart  shall  quiet  down  and  beat 
more  slowly  and  calmly.     He  applied  the  hypnotic 


1 82     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

method  of  treatment  to  such  diseases  as  rheumatic 
fever,  pleurisy,  pneumonia,  and  typhoid  fever  with 
marked  success,  thereby  lowering  the  temperature, 
removing  pain,  quieting  restlessness,  and  securing 
sl",ep. 

We  think  we  have  given  a  sufficient  number  of 
cases  and  of  sufficient  variety  fully  to  establish  the 
proposition  that  the  idea  of  disease  may  cause  dis- 
ease, and  the  idea  of  health  may  often  dispel  disease. 
A  proper  attention  to  the  different  cases  will  also, 
we  think,  abundantly  vindicate  the  law  so  well  stated 
by  Dr.  Goddard  that  "the  idea  of  disease  produces 
disease  in  direct  proportion  to  its  definiteness  and 
in  inverse  proportion  to  the  strength  of  the  idea 
opposing  it."  That  is  to  say,  if  a  person  had  a 
very  definite  and  vivid  idea  of  a  certain  disease  and 
expected  to  have  it,  he  would  induce  that  disease 
rather  than  some  other  that  he  knew  little  or  noth- 
ing about.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  had  a  tolerably 
clear  idea  of  a  given  disease,  but  did  not  think  it 
was  at  all  likely  he  could  have  it  under  the  circum- 
stances, he  would,  to  just  that  degree,  refrain  from 
inducing  it. 

How  this  law  is  possible  will  be  seen  when  we  re- 
call the  fact,  now  generally  accepted,  that  every  idea 
expresses  itself  to  some  extent  in  motor  action.  As 
another  puts  it,  every  idea  "generates  its  actuality." 
If  a  being  is  so  poorly  organised  that  it  can  only 
form  one  idea  at  a  time  this  idea  will  always  give 
vent  to  itself  in  some  kind  of  external  motion.  The 
brain  cells  employed  in  the  formation  of  the  idea 
will  discharge  their  nerve-force  with  nothing  to  im- 


The  Mind  and  Disease  183 

pede  its  spontaneous  outgo.  The  very  existence 
and  continuance  of  animal  life  is  dependent  upon 
this  fact.  This  is  probably  the  condition  of  all  or- 
ganisms below  man  that  possess  any  sort  or  degree 
of  consciousness.  But  whether  in  man  or  brute  it 
is  rightly  called  impulsive  and  is  the  lowest  form  of 
mental  activity.  Man  as  he  is  now  constituted  is 
not  merely  an  ideo-motor  being,  but  an  ideo-idea 
being.  He  has  so  far  advanced  beyond  this  first 
stage  of  development  that  he  can  have  at  least  two 
ideas  in  consciousness  at  the  same  moment,  and  thus 
he  is  able  to  re-enforce  his  first  idea  with  all  the 
nerve-force  of  the  second,  or  to  hold  the  first  in 
check  by  a  counter  action.  A  series  of  ideas 
may  be  formed,  all  working  for  one  common  end 
or  all  inhibiting  a  previous  idea  and  nullifying  its 
power. 

The  extent  to  which  the  nervous  energy  of  the 
organism  can  thus  be  manipulated  to  produce  or  in- 
hibit disease  is  beyond  our  estimation.  It  varies 
enormously  in  different  individuals  and  is  applicable 
to  different  diseases  in  different  degrees.  Why  it 
shows  itself  more  decidedly  in  hypnotism  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  in  the  hypnotic  state  opposing  ideas 
are  absent.  For  it  is  a  dream  state  in  which  the 
stream  of  thought  is  by  agreement,  so  to  speak, 
directed  by  another.  The  hypnotiser  has  no  power 
that  the  subject  does  not  give  him.  Even  in  sleep 
it  is  probable  that  he  need  not  obey  the  hypnotiser's 
commands  if  he  really  does  not  wish  to  do  so.  But, 
having  been  put  to  sleep  with  the  understanding 
that  he  is  always  to  do  what  he  is  told  to  do,  he 


1 84    Psychology  and  Common  Life 

implicitly  carries  out  to  the  best  of  his  ability  the 
operator's  commands. 

Whether  it  be  true  or  not  that  every  cell  of  the 
body  has  its  own  consciousness,  it  is  clear  that,  when 
the  rudiments  of  a  nervous  system  have  once  been 
developed,  what  is  called  by  some  the  general  con- 
sciousness takes  control  and  attends  to  the  welfare 
and  reputation  of  the  body  as  a  whole.  Trouble  in 
some  degree  is  of  course  constantly  arising  in  all 
parts  of  the  organism  in  the  ceaseless  endeavour  of 
each  cell  to  adjust  itself  to  its  appropriate  tasks. 
But  ordinarily  the  general  consciousness  does  not 
concern  itself  about  such  slight  matters.  Only 
when  the  disturbance  is  decidedly  interfering  with 
the  normal  action  of  the  organism  as  a  whole  will  it 
take  a  hand  in  the  affair.  If  anything  happens, 
however,  to  direct  its  attention  to  any  group  of 
cells  in  almost  any  organ  of  the  body,  it  will  at  once 
find  actual  pain  there  and  pain  that  can  be  greatly 
intensified  if  earnestly  looked  for.  In  the  same  way 
anything  that  distracts  the  attention  from  an  injury 
lessens  the  pain. 

Every  experience  with  mental  therapeutics  abun- 
dantly proves  that  great  pains  can  be  entirely  re- 
moved so  long  as  the  attention  is  focused  on  some 
other  object  or  idea.  This  accounts  for  the  fact 
that  many  cures  that  seem  at  first  to  be  permanent 
turn  out  to  be  the  opposite.  The  pain  is  inhibited 
for  the  time ;  and  as  pain  is  the  chief  sign  of  disease 
the  patient  thinks  he  has  been  made  entirely  whole. 
It  is  just  this  power  of  attention  that  makes  all 
healing  by  mental  methods  possible. 


The  Mind  and  Disease  185 

All  the  cases  enumerated  above  can  be  reduced  to 
the  principle  of  suggestion,  whether  they  occurred 
in  wakefulness  or  hypnotic  sleep.  And  the  stronger 
the  suggestion,  other  things  being  equal,  the  more 
perfect  will  be  the  cure.  The  reason  why  so  many 
more  successful  cures  take  place  in  deep  hypnotism 
than  in  light,  as  is  clearly  shown  by  the  tables  of 
results  prepared  by  Dr.  Goddard,  is  the  fact  that 
the  deeper  the  hypnotism  the  less  the  opposition 
to  the  suggestion  of  the  hypnotiser ;  in  other  words, 
the  more  likely  it  is  that  the  suggested  result  will  be 
produced. 

There  are  probably  no  pains,  so  physicians  tell  us, 
that  may  not  be  originated  by  hysteria.  Neuralgia 
is  often  of  hysterical  origin.  So  are  the  diseases  of 
the  joints  and  functional  derangements  of  the  vis- 
cera. Any  organ  may  be  affected  by  it.  It  may 
bring  on  all  sorts  of  stomach  disorders  and  it  often 
simulates  organic  disease  of  the  heart. 

Such  being  the  facts  we  have  a  right  to  argue 
with  Dr.  Hall  that  "if  mind  causes  disease,  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  it  can  cure  the  diseases  it 
causes."  Such  is  the  observed  fact,  and  it  is  com- 
monly admitted  by  the  best  physicians.  They  do 
not  claim  to  be  infallible  or  to  have  a  material 
remedy  for  every  ill.  They  would  even  be  willing 
to  subscribe  to  the  opinion  expressed  some  time  ago 
by  Dr.  Edes,  long  Professor  of  Materia  Medica  in 
the  Harvard  Medical  School,  that  we  should  not 
hesitate  "to  look  the  fact  squarely  in  the  face  that 
some  persons  do  receive  great  benefit  from  some  of 
these  forms  of  treatment,  who  have  failed  to  do  so 


1 86     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

at  the  hands  of  regular  and  skilled  practitioners." 
The  exact  division  between  curable  and  incurable 
diseases  is  far  from  settled.  Nor  are  we  by  any 
means  yet  able  to  say  to  what  extent  the  method  of 
cure  by  suggestion  can  be  carried.  But  it  certainly 
deserves  a  place  alongside  of  drugs  in  dispelling 
human  ills  and  thereby  administering  to  the  health 
and  happiness  of  the  race. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE   HEALINGS    OF   CHRISTIAN    SCIENCE  AND   THE 
MIRACLES   OF  LOURDES 

THE  first  person  to  attain  prominence  in  America 
as  a  mental  healer  was  Phineas  P.  Quimby,  of 
Belfast,  Maine.  He  was  born  in  Lebanon,  New 
Hampshire,  February  i6,  1802,  but  his  parents 
moved  to  Belfast  while  he  was  still  a  child  and  he 
received  his  education  chiefly  in  that  town.  Al- 
though he  was  a  studious  and  thoughtful  man  of 
inventive  mind  he  did  not  attract  any  special  atten- 
tion until  he  was  about  thirty-six  years  of  age,  when 
he  discovered  that  he  had  unusual  hypnotic  power. 
One  of  his  best  subjects  betook  himself  to  diagnos- 
ing diseases,  and  he  was  so  successful  in  his  endeav- 
ours that  Dr.  Quimby  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  relation  between  hypnotism  and  disease  was  a 
very  intimate  one. 

"When  I  mesmerised  my  subject,"  he  says,  "he 
would  prescribe  some  simple  little  herb  that  would 
do  no  harm  or  good  of  itself.  In  some  cases  this 
would  cure  the  patient.  I  also  found  that  any 
medicine  would  cure  certain  cases  if  he  ordered  it." 
After  much  reflection  on  the  subject  he  was  led  to 
what  he  regarded  as  the  greatest  discovery  that  had 

187 


1 88     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

ever  been  made,  namely,  that  the  cause  and  cure  of 
disease  is  not  a  physical  condition,  but  a  mental 
state.  He  soon  dropped  hypnotism  as  an  unneces- 
sary adjunct  to  his  work  and  wrought  his  cures  by 
talk  alone.  His  method  was  to  sit  down  by  the 
side  of  his  patient,  vividly  describe  to  him  his  dis- 
ease, tell  him  it  was  all  a  state  of  his  mind,  and 
exhort  him  to  change  his  mind  and  be  cured. 
Sometimes,  if  the  suffering  was  caused  by  neuralgic 
pains  or  a  sprain,  he  would  wet  his  hands  in  water 
and  rub  his  patient's  head  and  limbs.  But  he  al- 
ways insisted  that  the  rubbing  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  cure.  It  only  helped  the  sufferer  to  over- 
come his  opposition  to  the  truth  that  disease  is  a 
state  of  mind,  thereby  enabling  him  to  get  into  his 
head  a  new  idea. 

In  one  of  his  writings  the  doctor  says:  "I  deny 
disease  as  a  truth,  but  admit  it  as  a  deception, 
started  like  all  other  stories  without  any  foundation, 
and  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation  till 
the  people  believe  it,  and  it  becomes  a  part  of  their 
lives."  Admitting  all  his  crudeness  and  supersti- 
tion, we  should  not  refrain  from  giving  him  the 
credit  of  first  applying  the  doctrine  that  matter  is 
the  creation  of  mind  to  the  prevention  and  cure 
of  disease.  He  devoted  himself  assiduously  for  a 
number  of  years  to  his  mission  as  a  mental  healer. 
His  practice  was  chiefly  in  Portland,  where  he  had 
a  large  number  of  patients  and  performed  some 
wonderful  cures.  He  broke  down  from  overwork 
in  1866  and  died  that  same  year. 

But  before  he  died  he  had  for  a  patient   Mrs. 


Healings  of  Christian  Science      189 

Mary  Baker  Glover  Patterson,  the  founder  of  Chris- 
tian Science,  the  wife  of  a  dentist  in  Franklin,  N.  H. 
Mrs.  Patterson  left  her  husband  in  1862  to  go  to 
Portland  to  be  treated  by  the  mental  methods  of  Dr. 
Quimby.  As  a  child  in  Bow,  N.  H.,  where  she  was 
born  July  21,  1821,  she  was  sickly  and  hysterical, 
unable  to  attend  school  much,  or  to  engage  often  in 
the  social  life  of  other  children  of  her  years.  In  1843 
she  married  a  Mr.  Glover,  of  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  but 
he  died  suddenly  of  cholera  the  next  year.  Some 
fourteen  years  later  she  married  Dr.  Patterson,  who 
was  a  man  of  excellent  character  and  devoted  to  his 
wife. 

After  being  cured  by  Dr.  Quimby  she  obtained  a 
divorce  from  Dr.  Patterson  and  gave  herself  up  to 
the  elaboration  and  defence  of  Christian  Science, 
publishing  her  first  edition  of  Science  and  Health  in 
1875.  In  1877  she  married  Asa  Eddy,  of  Lynn, 
Mass.,  and  two  years  later  organised  a  "mind-heal- 
ing church,"  becoming  its  pastor  in  1881.  She 
founded  her  Metaphysical  College  the  same  year, 
being  assisted  in  its  administration  by  her  husband 
and  her  adopted  son,  Foster  Eddy.  In  1882  Mr. 
Eddy  suddenly  died,  and  in  1889  Mrs.  Eddy  closed 
her  college  and  devoted  herself  entirely  to  the  elab- 
oration of  her  views.  She  now  lives  in  elegant 
retirement  at  her  country  place  in  the  suburbs  of 
Concord,  N.  H.,  being  rarely  seen  even  by  her  most 
devoted  followers.  Mrs.  Eddy  claims  that  she  has 
personally  taught  four  thousand  Christian  Science 
healers,  and  her  "churches"  now  exist  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  the  civilised  world. 


190     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Although  Christian  Science,  both  as  to  its  doc- 
trines and  methods  of  heaHng  as  represented  by 
Mrs.  Eddy,  is  an  offshoot  of  Dr.  Quimby's  Mental 
Science,  it  differs  from  it  in  several  important  par- 
ticulars. Dr.  Quimby  never  assumed  any  super- 
natural origin  for  his  positions,  but  Mrs.  Eddy 
claims  throughout  divine  inspiration.  Her  book, 
entitled  Science  and  Health,  zvitJi  a  Key  to  the  Script- 
ures, begins  in  the  161  st  edition  as  well  as  in  the  first 
with  these  words:  "In  the  year  1866  [this  is  the 
year  Dr.  Quimby  died, — still  Mrs.  Eddy  nowhere 
acknowledges  her  indebtedness  to  him  for  her  views] 
I  discovered  the  Science  of  Metaphysical  Healing 
and  named  it  Christian  Science.  God  had  been 
graciously  fitting  me  during  many  years  for  the  re- 
ception of  a  final  revelation  of  the  absolute  Principle 
of  Scientific  Mind-healing."  She  regards  herself 
and  is  regarded  by  her  followers  as  the  mouthpiece 
of  God.  The  reason  she  gives  for  the  statement 
that  "a  Christian  Scientist  requires  my  book  on 
Science  and  Health  for  his  text-book  and  so  do  all 
his  students  and  patients"  is  the  fact  that  "it  is  the 
voice  of  Truth  to  this  age."  Because  of  the  divine 
origin  of  her  message  she  prefixes  the  title  Reverend 
to  her  name.  People  are  cured,  she  asserts,  in  the 
very  act  of  reading  her  book,  sometimes  by  reading 
Only  a  few  pages. 

Most  of  the  Mental-Science  healers  of  to-day, 
since  they  are  not  under  the  absolute  domination  of 
one  mind  claiming  infallibility  and  do  not  have  any 
organisation,  have  learned  something  by  experience. 
Many  of  them  admit  that  progress  must  be  evolu- 


Healings  of  Christian  Science      191 

tionary.  In  a  recent  pamphlet  published  by  the 
Metaphysical  Club  of  Boston  it  is  expressly  said  of 
the  science:  "It  does  not  ignore  the  good  in  exist- 
ing systems,  disparage  reasonable  hygiene,  or  deny 
the  place  of  certain  departments  of  surgery.  It  is 
not  insensible  to  the  present  and  provisional  uses  of 
simple  external  therapeutic  agencies." 

This  freedom  from  dogmatism,  and  the  search  for 
a  general  principle  upon  which  to  explain  its  results, 
makes  Mental  Science,  as  Dr.  Goddard  has  well 
pointed  out,  far  more  scientific  than  Christian 
Science.  For  Mrs.  Eddy's  position  is  not  affected 
at  all  by  results.  She  simply  asserts  uncompromis- 
ingly that  "the  opposite  of  truth — called  error,  sin, 
sickness,  disease,  death — is  the  false  testimony  of 
false  material  sense."  Mind  alone  is.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  body  or  matter,  and  therefore  there  can 
be  no  disease.  All  sickness  is  a  delusion  of  "mortal 
mind."  The  "treatment"  consists  in  asserting  this 
view  of  the  case  and  getting  the  patient  to  accept 
it.  The  acceptance  of  it  is  the  cure.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  it  is  so  difficult  to  get  evidence  of  alleged 
cures  by  Christian  Science  healers.  Mrs.  Eddy  says 
of  herself  (page  86):  "I  never  believed  in  receiving 
certificates  or  presenting  testimonials  of  cures;  and 
usually  when  healing  I  have  said  to  the  individual, 
'Go,  and  tell  no  man.'  " 

Still,  on  pages  87-89  of  her  Science  and  Health,  she 
offers  a  few  examples  of  her  healing  power.  These 
are  so  extraordinary  that  before  we  pass  judgment 
upon  them  we  need  to  remind  ourselves  of  the 
necessary  criteria  for  deciding  upon  the  reality  of  an 


192     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

alleged  cure.  It  is  not  claimed  that  these  require- 
ments must  all  be  fully  met  in  every  case.  But  it 
is  claimed  that  they  must  be  present  in  some  degree 
before  we  are  justified  in  accepting  any  reported 
extraordinary  case  of  healing  as  an  actual  fact. 

In  the  first  place,  the  evidence  must  be  minute  as 
to  essentials  and  must  be  first-hand.  This  requires 
that  the  description  of  the  case  before  and  after  the 
alleged  cure  should  be  given  in  sufificient  detail  to 
enable  others  to  form  a  judgment  in  the  matter  as 
well  as  the  persons  giving  the  evidence;  and  also 
that  the  physician  in  charge  and  the  patient  himself 
should  be  the  ones  to  tell  us  what  has  happened  and 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  change  took 
place.  Oftentimes  the  exact  history  of  a  case  is 
one  of  its  most  important  features,  as  heredity  and 
environment  account  for  many  ills. 

In  the  next  place,  evidence  in  these  cases,  to  be 
trustworthy,  must  be  given  by  competent  witnesses. 
As  a  rule  a  layman  is  not  competent  to  give  such 
evidence.  He  may  be  as  intelligent  as  a  physician, 
but  he  is  not  sufificiently  acquainted  with  the  de- 
tailed and  exact  rules  for  describing  the  complex 
phenomena  of  a  disease,  and  he  will  fail  to  make  his 
statements  clear  and  unambiguous.  Here  as  every- 
where else  scientific  accuracy  requires  that  the 
"consensus  of  the  competent"  should  be  at  hand 
regarding  the  reality  and  nature  of  the  alleged  cure. 

In  the  third  place,  the  evidence  offered  should  be 
supported  by  objective  records.  As  many  facts  as 
possible  should  be  ascertained  by  instruments  con- 
structed  for  the  purpose  and  not  merely  by  the 


Healings  of  Christian  Science     193 

unaided  powers  of  man.  The  thermometer,  for 
example,  often  gives  more  accurate  information 
about  a  patient's  condition  than  either  the  doctor 
or  the  patient  can  furnish.  The  condition  of  the 
pulse,  the  respiration,  the  character  of  the  excreta 
and  the  sputa,  and  much  other  objective  data  should 
be  obtained  and  carefully  put  on  record  if  we  are  to 
have  a  fully  satisfactory  statement  of  the  case. 

While  these  criteria  are  imperative  in  some  degree 
in  every  well-attested  case  of  disease  and  cure,  their 
application  by  no  means  prevents  us  from  accepting 
as  veritable  facts  many  alleged  cures  that  on  their 
face  seem  wholly  incredible.  Take,  for  example,  the 
matter  of  temperature.  It  was  once  held  that  no 
person  could  be  cured  of  a  disease  whose  tempera- 
ture had  reached  io8°  or  iio°  Fahrenheit.  From 
millions  of  observations  carefully  recorded  we  find 
that  the  temperature  of  ordinary  health  is  from  98° 
to  99°  Fahrenheit,  and  that  every  additional  degree 
implies  a  corresponding  degree  of  fever.  A  temper- 
ature of  106°  Fahrenheit  is  an  alarming  symptom, 
and  not  one  person  in  a  million  ever  reaches  110°. 
Previous  to  a  recent  date  there  were  no  records  of 
any  person  in  any  country  having  attained  a  tem- 
perature much  higher.  In  spite  of  all  this  we  have 
the  famous  case  reported  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Teale,  of 
Scarborough,  England.  He  announced  on  Febru- 
ary 26,  1875,  to  the  London  Clinical  Society  that  a 
patient  of  his,  suffering  from  a  fall  from  her  horse, 
maintained  for  seven  consecutive  weeks  a  temper- 
ature never  less  than    108°,   and   for  several   days 

showed  a  temperature  of  122°. 
13 


194     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

His  statement  was,  of  course,  received  with  the 
greatest  incredulity,  especially  when  he  added  that 
the  patient  afterwards  entirely  recovered  her  normal 
health  and  strength.  Yet  when  the  evidence  was 
adduced  everybody  accepted  it,  for  it  conformed  to 
all  the  criteria  required  in  such  a  case.  Seven  ther- 
mometers had  been  used  in  making  the  observations, 
three  of  which  had  been  made  for  the  purpose. 
Four  of  the  number  had  been  sent  to  Kew  to  be 
tested  and  had  been  found  to  be  correct  within  a 
tenth  of  a  degree.  Each  thermometer  had  been 
carefully  examined  both  before  and  after  its  use  by 
several  trustworthy  witnesses  and  the  results  re- 
corded at  once  in  writing.  The  temperature  had 
been  taken  at  the  same  time  in  two  and  sometimes 
three  parts  of  the  body,  and  each  thermometer  after 
use  had  been  shaken  down  to  its  normal  reading  and 
changed  in  position  in  order  to  eliminate  all  possible 
error  due  to  accident  or  fraud.  No  hot  water  in 
bottles  or  other  forms  had  been  allowed  in  the  room. 
For  nearly  ten  weeks  these  elaborate  observations 
had  been  made  daily  and  carefully  placed  on  record. 
When  evidence  like  this  is  forthcoming  for  any  al- 
leged extraordinary  events  we  are  bound  to  accept 
them  as  genuine  and  give  them  full  credence,  whether 
or  not  we  have  at  hand  for  them  a  satisfactory  ex- 
planation. 

Now  let  us  apply  these  criteria  to  a  few  of  Mrs. 
Eddy's  alleged  extraordinary  cures.  Among  them 
are  the  following:  The  first  one  is  described  for  Mrs. 
Eddy  by  a  Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.  Baker,  who  says  (page 
87): 


Healings  of  Christian  Science     195 

"  Miss  Ellen  C.  Pillsbury,  of  Tilton,  New  Hampshire, 
was  suffering  from  what  her  physicians  called  enteritis  in 
the  severest  form,  following  typhoid  fever.  Her  case 
was  given  up  by  her  regular  physician,  and  she  was  lying 
at  the  point  of  death  when  Mrs.  Glover  [afterward  Mrs. 
Eddy]  visited  her.  In  a  few  moments  after  Mrs.  Glover 
entered  the  room  and  stood  by  the  bedside,  Miss  Pills- 
bury  recognised  her.  ...  In  about  ten  minutes 
more  Mrs.  Glover  told  her  to  rise  from  her  bed  and  walk. 
Miss  Pillsbury  arose,  walked  several  times  across  her 
room,  and  then  sat  down  in  a  chair.  .  .  .  The  next 
day  she  was  dressed  and  went  down  to  table,  and  on  the 
fourth  day  she  made  a  journey  of  about  a  hundred  miles 
in  the  cars." 

The  second  case  is  that  of  Mr.  R.  O.  Badgely,  of 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  who  at  the  time  of  the  accident 
wrote  to  Mrs.  Eddy  as  follows:  "A  stick  of  timber 
fell  on  my  foot  from  a  building,  crushing  the  bones. 
Cannot  you  help  me?  I  am  sitting  in  great  pain 
with  my  foot  in  a  bath."  She  treats  him  silently, 
and  he  asserts  in  his  second  letter:  "My  painful 
and  swollen  foot  was  restored  at  once  on  your 
receipt  of  my  letter,  and  that  very  day  I  put  on  my 
boot  and  walked  several  miles." 

The  third  case  is  vouched  for  by  L.  C.  Edge- 
wood,  of  Lynn,  Mass.,  who  sends  to  Mrs.  Eddy  the 
following  testimonial  under  date  of  June,  1873: 

"  My  little  son,  a  year  and  a  half  old,  had  ulceration 
of  the  bowels  and  was  a  great  sufferer.  He  was  reduced 
almost  to  a  skeleton  and  growing  worse  daily.  He  could 
take  nothing  but  gruel,  or  some  very  simple  nourishment. 


T96     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

At  that  time  the  physicians  had  given  him  up,  saying  they 
could  do  no  more  for  him,  and  he  was  taking  laudanum. 
Mrs.  Eddy  came  in,  took  him  up  from  the  cradle,  held 
him  a  few  minutes,  kissed  him,  laid  him  down  again,  and 
went  out.  In  less  than  an  hour  he  was  taken  up,  had 
his  playthings,  and  was  well.  .  .  .  The  day  after  she 
saw  him  he  ate  all  he  wanted.  He  even  ate  a  quantity 
of  cabbage  just  before  going  to  bed." 

In  Mrs,  Eddy's  own  account  of  her  cure  of  Mr. 
Clark,  of  Lynn,  of   hip  disease,  she  says : 

"  On  entering  the  house  I  met  his  physician  who  said 
he  was  dying.  He  had  just  probed  the  ulcer  on  the  hip 
and  said  the  bone  was  carious  for  several  inches.  He 
even  showed  me  the  probe,  which  had  on  it  the  evidence 
of  this  condition  of  the  bone.  The  doctor  went  out, 
Mr.  Clark  lay  with  his  eyes  fixed  and  sightless.  The 
dew  of  death  was  upon  his  brow.     I  went  to  his  bedside 

In  about  ten  minutes  he  opened  his  eyes  and 
said:   '  I  feel  like  a  new  man.     My  suffering  is  all  gone.' 

Since  his  recovery  I  have  been  informed  that 
his  physician  claims  to  have  cured  him;  and  that  his 
mother  has  been  threatened  with  incarceration  in  an  in- 
sane asylum  for  saying:  '  It  was  none  other  than  God  and 
that  woman  who  healed  him.'  " 

In  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Sun,  dated  Decem- 
ber 15,  1899,  Mrs.  Eddy  writes  as  follows: 

"  I  challenge  the  world  to  disprove  what  I  hereby  de- 
clare. After  my  discovery  of  Christian  Science  I  healed 
consumption  in  its  last  stages  that  the  M.D.'s  by  verdict 
of  the  stethoscope  and  the  schools  declared  incurable, 


Healings  of  Christian  Science      197 

the  lungs  being  mostly  consumed.  I  healed  malignant 
tubercular  diphtheria  and  carious  bones  that  could  be 
dented  by  the  finger,  saving  them  when  the  surgeon's 
instruments  were  lying  on  the  table  ready  for  their  am- 
putation. I  have  healed  at  one  visit  a  cancer  that  had 
so  eaten  the  flesh  of  the  neck  as  to  expose  the  jugular 
vein  so  that  it  stood  out  like  a  cord." 

Not  a  particle  of  evidence  is  offered  in  the  letter 
in  support  of  these  assertions,  nor,  so  far  as  is  known 
has  any  evidence  ever  been  offered  to  competent 
scientific  investigators  in  substantiation  of  any  of 
these  claims.  Every  one  of  the  recognised  criteria 
of  a  rational  belief  in  such  cases  is  notoriously  absent. 
Until  these  alleged  cures  are  properly  accredited 
we  have  no  ground  for  accepting  them  as  real  and 
should  not  treat  them  as  in  any  sense  demanding 
consideration. 

A  few  of  the  alleged  cures  reported  by  other 
Christian  Science  healers  that  are  somewhat  better 
attested  than  the  above  are  the  following:  Mr.  J. 
R.  T. ,  a  solicitor  of  Los  Angeles,  California,  gives 
us  a  detailed  account  of  his  almost  complete  cure  of 
a  malformation  of  his  foot  and  leg  by  this  method, 
and  I  quote  from  this  account  as  published  in  the 
Proceedi7igs  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  for 
June,  1893,  pp.  171  seg.: 

"  I  was  born  September,  1858.  At  my  birth  my  right 
foot  was  deformed,  being  turned  upon  one  side,  and  in 
after  life  my  right  leg  did  not  grow  equally  with  the  left 
leg,  so  that  at  the  time  Christian  Science  was  introduced 
to  me  (June,  1889)  my  right  leg  was  about  two  inches 


198     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

shorter  than  my  left  leg,  so  that  I  had  to  wear  a  thick 
cork  sole  upon  my  right  shoe.  While  in  Washington  in 
January,  1891,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Virginia 
Johnson,  and  also  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Packard,  all  of  whom 
were  pupils  of  Mrs.  Eddy.  When  about  to  leave  Wash- 
ington and  return  West,  Miss  Johnson  encouraged  me  to 
go  to  Concord  and  call  upon  Mrs.  Eddy.  .  .  .  The 
next  morning,  Sunday,  January  25th,  while  lying  in  bed 
and  wondering  how  I  could  manage  to  call  upon  Mrs. 
Eddy  and  make  a  presentable  appearance,  I  chanced  to 
stretch  out  my  legs  and  was  surprised  to  find  that  they 
were  nearly  the  same  length.  I  dressed,  borrowed  a 
cast-off  shoe,  and  wore  it  upon  my  right  foot  that  day. 

I  have  worn  straight  shoes  of  the  ordinary 
ready-made .  kind  ever  since,  while  before  I  required  for 
my  right  foot  a  special  shoe  which  cost  me  ten  dollars. 

I  had  studied  Christian  Science  for  a  year  and 
a  half  before  the  above  demonstration  came." 

Lieutenant  F.  H.  Crosby,  United  States  Navy, 
under  date  of  November  15,  1892,  corroborates  the 
above  facts. 

"  I  certify,"  he  says,  "  that  I  am  personally  acquainted 
with  Mr.  J.  R.  T.  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  that  I  saw  him 
very  frequently,  about  the  time  his  leg  was  lengthened. 
I  am  as  sure  as  I  can  be  of  another  man's  acts 
that  he  used  no  other  means  to  bring  about  the  lengthen- 
ing of  his  leg  than  the  methods  of  Christian  Science." 

Dr.  Myers,  of  London,  Secretary  of  the  Society 
for  Psychical  Research,  desiring  to  get  the  fullest 
information  about  this  case,  w^rote  for  answers  to 
the  following  questions : 


Healings  of  Christian  Science     199 

"  Was  there  any  full  description  of  the  limb,  its  bones, 
joints,  and  muscles  before  the  lengthening  ?  Was  there 
any  elongation  of  the  long  bones  of  the  limbs,  the  femur, 
tibia,  or  fibula,  such  as  could  be  shown  by  the  com- 
parison of  measurements  made  between  different  parts  in 
the  same  bone  before  and  after  the  lengthening  ?  Was 
there  any  curvature  which  by  being  straightened  could 
have  made  the  bone  longer  ?  Was  there  any  evidence  of 
chronic  muscular  spasm  before  the  lengthening,  of  ten- 
sion or  adhesion  of  the  tendons,  or  muscles,  or  fasciae  or 
slight  chronic  displacement  of  the  bones  at  the  joints,  the 
hip,  the  knee,  or  the  ankle  ?  " 

In  reply  to  these  inquiries  he  was  told  that, 

"As  to  having  an  M.D.  to  perform  any  measurements 
to  satisfy  his  unbelief  in  the  power  of  mind  to  shape  its 
own  conditions  of  expression  I  must  respectfully  decline. 
The  proofs  of  Divine  Science  can  never  be  discerned 
through  material  means  and  measures.  '  A  wicked  and 
adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a  sign,  and  no  sign 
shall  be  given  except  the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jonas.' 
If  I  were  to  destroy  every  scrap  of  evidence 
that  I  had  ever  had  of  the  deformity  I  have  spoken  of, 
it  would  relieve  me  of  much  that  is  not  desirable.  I 
knew  when  the  Society  was  discussing  it,  and  was  al- 
most unable  to  put  on  my  shoe  by  reason  of  the  swell- 
ing induced  in  that  member  when  it  was  being  mentally 
discussed  in  London." 

Another  much-quoted  case  is  that  of  Eliza  H., 
who  slipped  in  the  dark  and  was  thrown  against  a 
stone  wall  at  the  foot  of  a  stairway. 


200     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

"  By  this  accident,"  she  writes,  "  six  ribs  were  dislo- 
cated, the  bones  of  my  right  wrist  were  all  displaced,  and 
my  hand  pronounced  useless  henceforth;  my  skull  was 
crushed,  my  stomach  was  injured,  and  all  my  other  in- 
ternal organs    displaced;    my   spine   also  was    seriously 
affected.      I   was  attended  by  the  most  eminent  phy- 
sicians.    After  four  years  of  intense  suffering,  chills  and 
fever  set  in  for  nine  months.     On  this  account  it  was 
thought  necessary  to  send  me  out  West.     I  went  to  the 
country  to  gain  strength  and  returned  to  the  city  in  the 
autumn,  expecting  to  be  operated  upon  in  the  hospital 
where  I  was  a  patient,  but  Professor  Fellowes  and  Dr. 
Ludlam  stated  in  lectures  to  their  classes  that  it  would 
be  impossible,  as  my  body  was  a  complete  wreck.     Also, 
as  all  the  inward  organs  were  displaced,  it  was  thought 
that  I  could  not  rally  from  the  effects  of  chloroform. 
Seven  years  of  intense  suffering  were  passed  in  a  pilgrim- 
age from  hospital  to  hospital.     I  was  entirely  helpless 
and   pronounced  incurable,    when  a  friend  opened   my 
eyes  to  the  truth.     From  that  hour  I  abandoned  all  medi- 
cine and  trusted  God.     I  began  to  mend  slowly  but  surely 
and  as  a  result  of  mental  treatment  only,  followed  by 
earnest  study;  I  am  now  in  vigorous  health,  able  to  ac- 
complish any  work,  such  as  running  a  sewing  machine 
for  hours  at  a  time,  walking  great  distances,  going  up 
and  down  stairs  with  perfect  ease  and  pleasure,  etc.,  and 
find  my  happiness  in  imparting  to  others  what  I  have 
received  and  am  continually  receiving." 

In  this  case,  as  in  the  one  preceding,  no  details  can 
be  procured  other  than  those  given  by  the  patient. 
We  have  the  evidence  of  no  other  person  as  to  the 
original  displacement  "of  all  the  inward  organs"  or 


Healings  of  Christian  Science     201 

of  their  final  adjustment.     The  seven  years  of  hos- 
pital life  furnish  us  no  light  upon  the  extraordinary 
complications  in  the  case.      Professor  Fellowes  and 
Dr.  Ludlam  offer  us  no  testimony  whatever  bearing 
upon  the  patient's  condition  when  under  their  care. 
This  notorious  lack  of  evidence  in  all  the  accessible 
accounts  of  cures  by  Christian  Science  healers  where 
organic  ailments  are  concerned  and  where  evidence 
of  the  exact  condition  could  easily  be  ascertained  by 
a  competent  physician,  entirely  justifies  us  in  de- 
clining to  regard  them  as  established  facts.     All  the 
real  ills  controlled  or  alleviated  by  their  method  of 
I    treatment, — and  they  are  many — are,  so  far  as  can 
I     be  ascertained,  chiefly  nervous  in  their  origin  and 
'     sufficiently  accounted  for  as  due  to  a  strong  act  of    , 
will  induced  by  a  suggestion  or  self-suggestion  of  the    / 
imagined  cure. 

The  success  and  failure  of  Christian  Science  healers 
are  closely  paralleled  by  those  of  the  so-called  men- 
tal healers  from  whom,  as  we  have  seen,  their  ideas 
and  methods  are  derived.  But  to  be  fully  compre- 
hended they  need  to  be  compared  with  those  of  the 
Faith-curists  who  are  becoming  so  numerous  in  our 
day.  Advocates  of  the  Faith-cure  theory  differ  from 
the  advocates  of  Christian  Science  in  holding  that 
pain  and  disease  are  real,  but  in  their  methods  of 
healing  they  essentially  agree.  Faith-curists  tell 
the  sufferer  to  commit  his  ways  unto  the  Lord  and 
his  ills  will  vanish.  They  all  claim  to  follow  ex- 
plicitly the  Bible,  but  vary  somewhat  among  them- 
selves as  to  what  the  Bible  teaches.  Some  hold 
that  the  sufferer  should  be  anointed  after  the  sug- 


202     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

gestion  of  the  Apostle  James.  Some  claim  that  the 
laying  on  of  hands  is  necessary ;  others  that  prayer 
alone  will  suffice,  A  few  teach  that  God  may  will 
that  the  sickness  is  to  be  patiently  endured,  but 
nearly  all  maintain  that  the  cure  will  always  be  ac- 
cording to  the  faith  of  the  patient. 

There  are  many  so-called  tramp  healers  who  adopt 
this  method,  such  as  Schrader,  Schlatter,  and  their 
imitators,  but  the  two  most  prominent  Faith-curists 
in  America  who  have  permanent  headquarters  are 
Rev.  A.  B.  Simpson,  of  New  York  City,  and  Rev. 
John  Alexander  Dowie,  of  Chicago.  The  former 
holds  that  it  is  dishonouring  God,  after  you  have 
prayed  for  health,  to  doubt  that  you  have  it  or  ask 
for  a  sign ;  the  latter  argues  that  it  is  a  lie  to  claim 
that  you  are  healed  when  you  are  not.  For  that 
reason  Dr.  Dowie  in  his  "Divine  healing  home"  in 
Chicago  keeps  a  record  of  individual  cures  which  is 
of  considerable  value  and  completeness.  He  does 
not  claim  that  all  are  healed. 

Dr.  Goddard  tells  us  {American  Journal  of  Psy- 
chology, April,  1899,  PP-  442>  443)  that  in  1898  there 
were  about  sixteen  hundred  cases  then  on  record 
which  he  examined  with  care. 

"About  two- thirds  of  them,"  he  says,  "are  females. 
In  age  they  range  from  six  months  to  eighty-six  years, 
though  the  main  part  of  them  are  between  twenty  and 
fifty.  Of  the  women,  the  married  are  about  three  times 
as  numerous  as  the  unmarried.  .  .  .  The  duration 
of  the  disease  from  which  they  were  healed  varied  from 
a  few  minutes  to  fifty-two  years.  The  average  time  is 
about  twelve  years  for  each  sex. 


Healings  of  Christian  Science     203 

"  Thirty-three  per  cent,  report  their  healing  as  instan- 
taneous, fifty  per  cent,  say  that  they  are  not  yet  perfectly 
healed.  It  must  be  noted  that  while  thirty-three  per 
cent,  report  instantaneous  healing,  it  is  clear  from  their 
own  account  that  they  almost  always  mean  that  pain 
ceased  instantly,  and  it  may  be  mentioned  here  that  of 
all  returns  that  give  data  upon  that  point,  almost  every 
one  shows  that  pain  ceased  at  the  time  of  prayer. 

"Again,  of  the  whole  number  seventy-six  per  cent, 
were  treated  or  prayed  with  by  Dr.  Dowie  in  person, 
seven  and  one  half  per  cent,  were  prayed  for  by  him  at 
a  distance.  Four  and  one-half  per  cent,  were  prayed 
for  by  Mrs.  Dowie.  Seven  and  one-half  per  cent,  were 
healed  in  answer  to  their  own  prayers  or  efforts,  and  four 
and  one-half  per  cent,  were  healed  in  answer  to  prayers 
of  friends." 

As  an  indication  of  the  range  of  these  alleged  cures 
Dr.  Goddard  notes  the  following: 

"  Legs  lengthened  from  i  to  5  inches.  Gained  95  lbs. 
Hip  2^  inches  reduced.  56  abscesses  at  one  time  cured. 
Deaf  and  dumb.  Senseless  3  weeks.  While  the  men 
report:  40  whiskies  a  day  cured.  Wreck  physically. 
Hip  disease.  Goitre.  3  bullets.  Deaf  and  dumb. 
Fever  settled  in  bones.  Appendicitis.  Leg  shortened  2 
inches.     Born  blind.     Deaf  after  measles." 

It  is  beyond  reasonable  doubt  that  many  persons 
treated  by  the  method  of  the  Faith-curists  have 
actually  been  cured,  and  in  some  instances  even 
after  all  other  means  had  failed  to  benefit.  A 
number  of  genuine  cases  are  known  in  which  the 


204     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Faith-curists  succeeded  where  the  Christian  Scien- 
tists failed.  The  methods  of  both  are,  however, 
essentially  the  same  and  have  the  same  limitations. 
Whenever  their  alleged  cures  have  transcended  the 
known  effects  of  the  mind  upon  the  body  the  evi- 
dence for  their  genuineness  has  invariably  failed  to 
meet  rational  demands.  The  investigation  of  a  few 
of  their  test  cases  will  make  this  evident.  They 
are  selected  from  a  large  number  reported  to  the 
Society  of  Psychical  Research  and  published  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  June,  1893.  As 
the  mere  statement  of  the  cases  contains  all  that  is 
known  about  them  they  will  be  passed  by  without 
further  comment  except  to  note  the  fact  that  they 
are  almost  identical  in  character  with  those  already 
quoted  from  the  records  of  Christian  Science. 

"  My  little  daughter,  at  the  age  of  seven,  was  suffering 
from  chronic  indigestion  which  cased  her  much  pain. 
She  had  been  under  the  treatment  of  a  physician  for 
several  months  and  he  gave  no  hopes  of  an  early  re- 
covery. The  faith-healing  doctor  above  referred  to  hap- 
pened at  the  time  to  be  visiting  at  my  house  and  it  was 
suggested  that  he  should  anoint  the  child  and  pray  with 
her.  The  matter  was  explained  to  her  and  she  said  she 
did  not  know  whether  she  would  like  to  have  it  done  or 
not,  and  that  she  would  think  about  it.  This  she  did  for 
a  day  and  then  came  in  a  great  hurry,  saying,  '  I  'm 
ready  now  and  he  must  do  it  at  once.'  The  usual  cere- 
mony was  gone  through  and  the  child  was  at  once 
cured." 

Another  case  is  the  following: 


Healings  of  Christian  Science     205 

"  My  younger  brother's  wife  had  a  disease  of  the  cir- 
culation called  the  '  milk  leg  '  by  which  she  was  laid  up, 
unable  to  stand  or  to  move  the  leg  for  about  a  year. 
One  day  her  physician  had  made  a  fresh  special  examina- 
tion and  stated  that  there  was  no  hope  of  her  walking  for 
another  year.  Under  a  strong  impulse  of  despair  suc- 
ceeded by  one  of  hope,  she  said,  '  I  will  trust  God  and 
walk.'  She  rose  up,  dressed  for  the  first  time  for  twelve 
months,  and  has  in  the  six  years  since  had  no  relapse." 

A  fair  example  of  the  way  these  alleged  extra- 
ordinary cures  lose,  in  large  measure  at  least,  their 
unusual  character  when  the  evidence  in  their  support 
can  be  sifted  is  given  by  Dr.  J.  M,  Buckley  in  his 
book  entitled  Faith-Healing,  Christian  Science,  and 
Kindred  Phenomena  (p.  54).  As  originally  reported 
it  runs  as  follows : 

"  His  son  (my  family  physician)  at  twelve  years  of  age 
broke  both  bones  of  his  arm  below  the  elbow,  which  were 
set  by  an  uncle.  Two  days  afterwards  the  boy  came  to 
his  father  and  asked  him  to  take  the  arm  out  of  the 
splints.  The  father  explained  the  certain  results,  but 
the  lad  said:  'You  taught  me  to  ask  Jesus  for  what  I 
wanted  and  to  be  sure  that  I  would  get  it,  and  I  have 
asked  Him.'  The  child  was  so  persistent  that  at  length 
the  father  directed  the  uncle  to  remove  the  splints.  The 
arm  was  fit  for  use !  The  uncle  nearly  fainted  with  as- 
tonishment. Told  to  me  at  the  time,  all  the  parties  my 
trusted  friends,  I  am  compelled  to  believe  in  the  fact." 

Dr.  James  Henry  Lloyd,  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  thoroughly  investigated  this  case  and 


2o6     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

the  results  are  embodied  in  a  letter  signed  by  the 
very  child  in  question,  who  is  now  a  physician. 

"Dear  Sir: 

"  The  case  you  cite,  when  robbed  of  all  its  sensational 
surroundings,  is  as  follows:  The  child  was  a  spoiled 
youngster  who  would  have  his  own  way,  and  when  he 
had  a  green-stick  fracture  of  the  forearm,  after  having 
had  it  bandaged  for  several  days,  concluded  that  he  would 
much  prefer  going  without  a  splint.  To  please  the 
spoiled  child  the  splint  was  removed  and  the  arm  care- 
fully adjusted  in  a  sling.  As  a  matter  of  course  the  bone 
soon  united,  as  is  customary  in  children,  and,  being  only 
partially  broken,  of  course  all  the  sooner.  This  is  the 
miracle.  Some  nurse,  or  crank,  or  religious  enthusiast, 
ignorant  of  matters  physiological  or  histological,  evi- 
dently started  the  story,  and  unfortunately  my  name — 
for  I  am  the  party — is  being  circulated  in  circles  of  faith- 
curists,  and  is  given  the  sort  of  notoriety  I  do  not  crave. 
"  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"CarlH.  Reed." 


Among  the  most  extraordinary  cases  of  healing  in 
modern  times  are  those  commonly  known  as  the 
miracles  of  Lourdes.  At  this  obscure  little  village  in 
the  Pyrenees  in  the  south-western  corner  of  France 
it  is  alleged  that  the  Virgin  Mary  between  the  nth 
of  February  and  the  i6th  of  July,  1858,  appeared 
eighteen  times  to  a  poor  little  shepherd  girl,  thirteen 
years  of  age,  by  the  name  of  Bernadette  Soubirous; 
and  that  in  direct  consequence  of  these  visions  mir- 
aculous cures,  now  amounting  to  many  thousands, 


Miracles  of  Lourdes  207 

have  been  performed  in  and  near  the  grotto  where 
the  Virgin  was  first  seen. 

Bernadette,  it  is  said,  on  the  morning  of  February 
nth,  a  few  days  before  her  first  communion,  went 
out  with  two  other  Httle  girls  to  gather  sticks  for  her 
mother  along  the  banks  of  a  small  river  that  flowed 
near  her  home.  Being  a  sickly  and  delicate  child 
she  soon  found  herself  far  behind  her  companions 
and  separated  from  them  by  a  brook  too  wide  for 
her  to  jump  across.  While  she  was  taking  off  her 
shoes  and  stockings  to  wade  through  the  ice-cold 
water  she  suddenly  heard  a  rushing  mighty  wind 
which  was  as  suddenly  followed  by  a  dead  calm. 
As  she  looked  up  she  beheld  in  the  hollow  of  the 
rocks  near  by  a  great  light.  This  light  enveloped 
the  figure  of  a  beautiful  woman  clad  in  glistening 
white  robes,  with  a  blue  girdle  about  her  waist,  a 
golden  coloured  rose  upon  each  foot,  and  a  rosary 
hanging  from  her  hands  which  were  folded  gently 
upon  her  breast.  As  the  lady  smiled  upon  the 
child  she  fell  upon  her  knees  in  joyful  adoration, 
repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Hail  Mary,  and  the 
creed,  with  the  last  words  of  which  the  vision  van- 
ished. 

Bernadette  hurried  home  and  told  her  mother  and 
elder  sister  what  had  happened.  They  tried  at  first 
to  dissuade  her  from  revisiting  the  place,  but  in  vain. 
Every  time  she  went  to  the  spot,  no  matter  how 
many  accompanied  her,  she  would  fall  upon  her 
knees,  see  the  beautiful  figure  of  the  Virgin,  and 
hear  the  voice.  On  one  occasion  the  Virgin  said  to 
her:  "I  do  not  promise  to  make  you  happy  in  this 


2o8     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

world,  but  in  the  next.  I  want  many  people  to 
come,"  On  another  she  said:  "Penitence!  peni- 
tence !  penitence !  Go  and  tell  the  priests  to  cause 
a  chapel  to  be  built ;  I  want  people  to  come  hither 
in  procession.  Go  and  drink  of  the  fountain  and 
wash  yourself  in  it.  Go  and  eat  of  that  grass  that 
is  there."  At  one  of  the  last  of  her  manifestations 
the  Virgin  declared:  "I  am  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception." 

At  first  these  alleged  facts  about  Bernadette  were 
discredited  by  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities, 
but  the  sincerity  and  assurance  of  the  child  dispelled 
all  doubt.  As  soon  as  the  knowledge  of  these  ap- 
pearances became  known  the  sick  from  all  the  sur- 
rounding country  were  brought  in  great  numbers  to 
Lourdes  to  be  bathed  in  the  waters  of  the  fountain 
that  the  Virgin  caused  to  spring  up  in  the  little 
grotto  at  the  entrance  of  which  she  had  first  been 
seen.  People  afflicted  with  almost  every  known 
disease,  it  is  claimed,  were  by  this  act  instantly 
cured.  The  official  record  of  what  has  since  taken 
place  at  this  fountain,  caWed  A nna/es  dc  Lourdes,  now 
numbers  nearly  thirty  volumes.  Dr.  Boissarie,  who 
as  an  expert  claims  to  give  a  scientific  presentation 
of  the  evidence  for  these  miraculous  cases,  after  long 
personal  investigation  and  full  access  to  all  the  facts 
asserts  in  his  work,  entitled  Lourdes  depiiis  1858, 
that  over  nine  thousand  French  people  have  already 
been  miraculously  cured  at  this  fountain  and  as 
many  more  from  other  parts  of  the  civilised  world, 
even  Canada  and  the  United  States  having  a  large 
representation.       He  also  asserts  that  as  many  as 


Miracles  of  Lourdes  209 

three  hundred  thousand  persons  have  visited  the 
place  in  a  single  year.  In  the  great  basilica  that 
has  been  built  above  the  grotto  over  eight  hundred 
ex-votive  banners  from  all  quarters  of  the  earth  hang 
down  from  the  vaults,  and  the  number  is  increased 
almost  daily  by  one  or  two. 

Barbe,  in  his  work  on  Lourdes,  describes  in  detail 
the  method  of  treatment  adopted  at  these  baths : 

"In  the  centre,"  he  says,  "  is  the  basin  fed  by  two 
large  taps  through  which  the  water  is  changed  three 
times  a  day.  In  this  water  bathe  the  sick,  whatever 
their  diseases.  Contagions,  infections  of  all  kinds  enter 
the  water  alike.  The  pilgrims  have  no  fear.  Nor,  in- 
deed, is  there  a  single  case  on  record  of  sickness  con- 
tracted at  the  fountain  of  Lourdes.  .  .  .  According 
to  the  nature  of  the  malady  a  patient  is  lowered  into 
the  water  by  means  of  a  sheet  or  of  broad  straps  passed 
under  the  back  and  under  the  legs,  four  persons  holding 
the  ends.  .  .  .  Before  the  immersion,  while  it  is 
taking  place,  and  after  it,  prayers  are  offered.  The 
friends  of  the  patient  may  choose  the  first  prayers;  next, 
when  he  is  ready  for  the  bath,  he  is  asked  to  recite  an 
act  of  contrition ;  while  he  is  in  the  water  the  following 
invocations  are  said,  each  three  times: 

Blessed  be  the  holy  and  immaculate  Conception  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God. 

Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  pray  for  us. 

Our  Mother,  have  pity  on  us. 

Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  heal  us  for  the  love  and  honour 
of  the  Holy  Trinity. 

Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  heal  us  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners. 

6 


2IO     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Health  of  the  sick,  pray  for  us. 
Succour  of  sufferers,  pray  for  us. 
O  Mary,  conceived  without  sin,  pray  for  us  who  have 
recourse  to  thee." 


When  the  patient  is  able,  he  joins  in  the  prayers. 
While  the  dumb,  the  paralytic,  consumptives  even, 
are  lying  m  the  cold  u^ater  of  this  mountain  spring 
"hundreds  of  voices  are  storming  Heaven  with 
prayers.  Shouts  go  up.  Men  fall  on  their  knees 
with  their  arms  out  in  the  form  of  the  cross  of 
Christ.  It  is  an  enormous  effort  of  desire."  No 
claim  is  made  that  all  are  healed,  but  that  they 
come  out  at  least  with  the  peace  of  a  profounder 
resignation.  It  is  asserted  by  the  officials  that  of 
all  the  cases  of  consumption,  rheumatism,  and  kin- 
dred diseases  treated  at  Lourdes  no  one  has  been 
made  worse  by  being  held  in  this  cold  bath. 

The  water  at  Lourdes  has  frequently  been  an- 
alysed by  competent  authorities.  The  Professor  of 
Chemistry  at  Toulouse  writes  of  it:  "The  water 
contains  no  active  substance  capable  of  endowing 
it  with  marked  therapeutic  properties.  It  can  be 
taken  without  injury."  No  one,  we  are  told,  is  al- 
lowed to  bathe  in  the  grotto  until  he  is  examined 
by  the  physicians  in  charge  and  his  disease  is  known 
to  be  genuine.  The  books  of  the  office  are  open  to 
inspection  by  any  doctor  or  medical  student,  French 
or  foreign. 

There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  Bernadette  re- 
ported in  good  faith  and  with  a  fair  degree  of  ac- 
curacy what  she  believed  she  saw  and  heard.     Such 


Miracles  of  Lourdes  211 

appearances  of  the  Virgin  have  often  been  reported, 
especially  by  young  religious  enthusiasts.  In  this 
case,  as  in  many  others  of  a  similar  kind,  the  vision 
was  in  all  probability  a  real  one,  but  without  a 
concrete  objective  basis  in  an  actually  external  fact. 
For  no  one  saw  the  figure  but  the  child  on  any  of 
the  alleged  appearances,  although  others  were  with 
her  when  the  visions  occurred.  No  objective  occur- 
rence was  so  connected  with  it  as  to  call  it  forth,  and 
no  means  were  given  to  verify  its  alleged  prophecies 
by  subsequent  events. 

The  first  and  in  some  ways  the  most  extraordinary 
of  these  miracles  is  the  so-called  "miracle  of  the 
taper."  It  is  described  by  Dr.  Boissarie  as  it  was 
told  to  him  by  a  certain  Dr.  Dozous,  who  first 
aroused  public  interest  in  these  phenomena. 

"The  girl  upon  her  knees,"  he  says,  "held  in  one 
hand  a  lighted  taper,  which  rested  upon  the  ground. 
During  her  ecstasy  she  put  her  hands  together  and  her 
fingers  were  loosely  crossed  above  the  flame  which  they 
enveloped  in  the  cavity  between  the  two  hands.  The 
taper  burned;  the  flame  showed  its  point  between  the 
fingers  and  was  blown  about  at  the  time  by  a  rather 
strong  current  of  air.  But  the  flame  did  not  seem  to 
produce  any  alteration  in  the  skin  which  it  touched. 

"  Astonished  at  this  strange  fact,  I  did  not  allow  any 
one  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  and  taking  out  my  watch  I  could 
observe  it  perfectly  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Her  prayer 
ended,  Bernadette  rose  and  prepared  to  leave  the  grotto. 
I  kept  her  back  for  a  moment  and  asked  her  to  show  me 
her  hand,  which  I  examined  with  the  greatest  care.  I 
could  not  find  the  slightest  trace  of  a  burn  anywhere.     I 


212     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

then  tried  to  place  the  flame  of  the  taper  beneath  her 
hand  without  her  observing  it,  but  she  drew  her  hand 
quickly  back,  exclaiming,  '  You  burn  me  '  "  {Lourdes,  p. 

39). 

Making  all  due  allowance  for  exaggeration,  and 
allowing  even  the  essential  truthfulness  of  this  nar- 
rative, we  have  no  adequate  ground  for  supposing 
that  the  event  was  due  to  the  special  presence  of 
the  Virgin  Mary.  Similar  events  showing  the  power 
of  the  mind  to  resist  for  a  time  to  some  extent  the 
destroying  effects  of  fire  are  reported  and  vouched 
for  by  competent  witnesses  and  have  been  fully 
described  in  the  previous  chapter.  They  do  not 
necessitate  the  assumption  of  a  superhuman  agency. 

Soon  after  this  miracle  of  the  taper  a  quarryman 
by  the  name  of  Bourriette,  whose  eyes  had  been  in- 
jured by  an  explosion,  conceived  the  idea  of  bathing 
his  eyes  with  some  of  the  water  from  the  spring  that 
was  discovered  in  this  grotto.  He  was  greatly 
benefited,  and  so  were  many  others  of  his  class  who 
were  led  to  try  the  same  remedy  for  similar  ills. 
And  soon  the  idea  spread  far  and  wide  that  if  a 
sufferer  from  any  disease  could  only  be  brought  to 
Lourdes  and  let  down  into  these  waters  the  Virgin 
would  have  pity  upon  him  and  make  him  whole. 

Among  the  many  striking  cases  Dr.  Boissarie  de- 
scribes is  that  of  Mile.  Blondel,  which  we  summarise 
as  follows:  In  1879  ^  woman  by  the  name  of  Blon- 
del was  brought  to  Lourdes  who  for  the  previous 
five  years  had  been  suffering  from  a  rheumatic  at- 
tack which  "affected  her  spinal  cord  and  produced 


Miracles  of  Lourdes  213 

a  paralysis  of  her  lower  limbs. ' '  She  had  been 
treated  by  every  known  method  without  improve- 
ment. Two  baths  in  the  sacred  waters  were  of  no 
avail,  and  for  three  years  treatment  was  abandoned 
as  hopeless.  In  1882  she  was  brought  again  to 
Lourdes  as  a  paralytic  who  could  only  be  treated 
by  miracle.  While  taking  her  first  bath,  "in  a  few 
moments,"  we  are  told,  "she  felt  cured.  Without 
the  least  hesitation  she  could  get  out  of  the  bath, 
stand  on  her  feet,  sit  down,  or  walk  about,  and  full 
powers  of  sensation  had  returned  to  all  parts.  All 
the  doctors  who  had  had  the  treatment  of  Mile. 
Blondel  gave  a  confident  opinion  that  this  was  a 
supernatural  cure."     {^Lourdes,  p.  238.) 

Another  famous  case  is  that  of  Pierre  Delannoy, 
who  was  cured  during  the  national  pilgrimage  of 
1889.  Dr.  Boissarie  writes  characteristically  of  this 
case  as  quoted  by  Barb6  (pp.  89,  90) : 

"  Is  the  man  we  saw  at  Lourdes  on  the  20th  and  22nd 
of  August,  i88g,  verily  the  man  who,  from  1883  to  1889, 
was  sixteen  times  a  patient  in  the  several  hospitals  of 
Paris?  A  telegram  from  the  Charite  Hospital  affirms  that 
he  is  indeed  the  same.  '  We  have  seen  Delannoy  four 
times  this  week.  The  physicians  are  staggered.  He 
walks  like  a  country  postman.' 

"  The  separate  opinions  of  twelve  hospital  doctors, 
who  have  had  Pierre  Delannoy  for  six  years  under  their 
care,  were  recorded  at  the  time,  and  copied  into  the  cer- 
tificate of  discharge  which  every  patient  receives  on  leav- 
ing a  hospital.  These  several  certificates,  in  complete 
order,  and  bearing  their  dates  and  seal  of  the  adminis- 
tration, have  been  laid  before  us,  and  have  enabled  us  to 


214    Psychology  and  Common  Life 

draw  up  the  pathological  history  of  Delannoy  so  as  to 
fix,  in  unquestionable  order  and  sequence  the  various 
periods  of  the  case.  ...  If  doubt  were  possible  in 
sight  of  unanimity  so  complete,  the  treatment  to  which 
Delannoy  was  subjected  should  give  us  certainty. 

"  Considerably  more  than  a  hundred  operations,  all  of 
the  same  nature,  some  simply  repetitions,  were  performed 
upon  the  patient  during  the  six  years.  The  diagnosis  of 
his  disease  is  written  upon  his  back  in  characters  unani- 
mous and  indelible!  And  this  sufferer  had,  moreover, 
passed  through  the  first  and  second  periods  of  ataxia. 
He  had  entered  upon  the  third.  Dr.  Charcot's  '  paralytic 
period.'  At  this  stage  the  lesions  of  the  marrow  are  ir- 
reparable; the  nervous  elements  have  diminished  almost 
to  disappearance;  cure  is  all  but  impossible.  In  any 
case  it  could  not  be  complete ;  partial  restoration  would 
be  a  matter  of  months  and  even  of  years.  Yet  Delannoy 
was  healed  completely  on  the  20th  of  August,  1889.  He 
was  healed,  not  in  the  bath,  but  kneeling  upon  the  flag- 
stones in  front  of  the  grotto,  while  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment passed  before  him. 

"  There  he  was  with  his  forehead  pressed  upon  the 
stone,  which  he  most  humbly  kissed.  And  while  the 
crowd  prayed  with  one  voice,  '  O  Lord,  heal  us! '  this 
sick  workingman  also  said  aloud,  '  Heal  me,  if  it  is  need- 
ful for  me.'  Upon  the  instant  he  was  conscious  of  a 
force  constraining  him  to  rise  and  walk.  He  rose  alone, 
he  walked  without  assistance,  without  trouble,  without 
pain,  with  a  complete  and  easy  co-ordination  of  all  the 
movements  of  his  body." 

Now,  this  recovery  of  Delannoy  and  the  speedy 
cure  of  Mile.  Blondel,  extraordinary  as  they  are,  do 
not  surpass  many  others  on  record  for  which  there 


Miracles  of  Lourdes  215 

is  no  reason  for  setting  up  a  supernatural  origin.  A 
parallel  case  given  by  Dr.  Myers  from  the  experi- 
ence of  Professor  Charles  Buchanan,  of  Glasgow,  is 
here  in  point  {Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,  June,  1893,  pp.  191,  192).  Professor 
Buchanan's  patient  was  a  woman  about  thirty-one 
years  of  age,  who  had  been  for  some  months  at  least 
practically  a  paralytic. 

"  She  was  not  able,"  the  Professor  says,  "  to  alter  her 
position  in  bed  without  help,  and  this  always  gave  so 
much  trouble  that  she  would  have  remained  constantly 
in  the  same  position  if  the  attendants  had  not  insisted  on 
moving  her  to  allow  of  the  bedclothes  being  changed  and 
arranged." 

The  woman  had  given  up  all  hope  of  recovery  and 
rarely  took  any  food  except  when  forced  to  do  so. 

Professor  Buchanan,  upon  being  called  to  take 
charge  of  the  case,  decided  to  treat  it  as  a  functional 
spinal  trouble  and  not  a  real  disease  due  to  actual 
molecular  disintegration. 


'&' 


"  I  went  to  her  bedside,"  he  tells  us,  "  and  said  sud- 
denly: '  I  cannot  do  you  any  good  unless  you  allow  me 
to  examine  your  back. '  In  an  instant  she  moved  slightly 
round,  and  I  examined  her  spine,  running  my  finger  over 
it  at  first  lightly,  then  more  firmly,  without  her  wincing 
at  all.  I  then  said:  'Get  out  of  bed  at  once.'  She 
declared  she  could  not  move.  I  said :  '  You  can  move 
quite  well;  come  out  of  bed,'  and  gave  her  my  hand, 
when,  to  the  surprise  of  her  husband  and  sister,  who 
looked  perfectly  thunderstruck,  she  came  out  of  her  bed 


2i6     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

without  any  help  at  all  and  stood  alone.  I  said,  '  Walk 
across  the  floor  now  ' ;  without  demur  she  walked  with- 
out assistance,  saying,  '  I  can  walk  quite  well ;  T  knew  you 
would  cure  me;  my  pains  are  gone.'  She  then  went 
into  bed  with  very  little  assistance,  lay  on  her  back,  and 
declared  she  was  perfectly  comfortable.  She  was  given 
a  glass  of  milk,  which  she  took  with  a  relish,  and  I  left 
the  house  having  performed  a  cure  which  to  the  by- 
standers looked  nothing  short  of  a  miracle." 

Another  of  Boissarie's  cases  is  that  of  a  French 
soldier  who  is  said  to  have  been  miraculously  cured 
of  blindness.  In  1882  the  eyesight  of  this  soldier 
was  so  damaged  by  a  fire  he  was  helping  to  put  out 
that  at  the  end  of  three  months  he  could  not  see  at 
all.  A  doctor  who  treated  him  at  the  hospital  of 
Dijon  told  the  patient  that  he  had  "detachment  of 
the  retina  in  both  eyes."  For  eight  years  he  tried 
various  remedies,  but  all  in  vain.  In  August,  1890, 
he  betook  himself  to  a  convent.  One  evening  after 
he  had  been  to  confession  one  of  the  convent  sisters 
brought  him  a  bottle  of  holy  water  of  Lourdes. 
Full  of  confidence  in  its  healing  power,  he  touched 
his  eyes  with  it,  "and  all  at  once,"  he  tells  us,  "as 
quick  as  lightning"  his  sight  came  back  to  him,  and 
after  nine  days  of  gradual  improvement  he  could 
see  perfectly. 

A  much  more  famous  case  is  that  of  Henri  Las- 
serre,  a  historian  of  Lourdes.  It  is  described  by 
Barbe  (page  91)  as  follows: 

"  Henri  Lasserre  had  hyperaemia,  a  congestion  of  the 
pupil.     The  two  most  distinguished  ocuUsts  of  the  time 


Miracles  of  Lourdes  217 

— Dr.  Demarres  and  Girand-Teulon— having  diagnosed 
the  lesion  of  the  retina,  took  all  possible  means  to  arrest 
its  development.  Absolute  rest  for  the  eyes,  a  change 
to  the  country,  hydropathy,  tonics — all  were  prescribed 
and  all  were  taken  without  success.  By  degrees  the 
sight  grew  weak,  and  at  last  failed  altogether.  Several 
months  passed.  M.  Lasserre  felt  that  he  was  growing 
blind.  Trusting  in  God,  he  asked  for  some  water  of 
Lourdes,  bathed  his  eyes  in  it,  and  was  cured.  His  his- 
tory of  Lourdes  was  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving." 

Bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  all  ophthalmic 
authorities  admit  that  detachment  of  the  retina  is 
hard  to  detect  and  may  in  time  cure  itself,  and  the 
fact  that  we  have  no  direct  evidence  that  it  existed 
during  the  years  preceding  the  alleged  cure,  or  dis- 
appeared wholly  after  it,  we  may  reasonably  con- 
clude that  the  restoration  of  the  sight  in  this  case 
was  due  to  natural  causes  and  does  not  transcend 
what  is  attributable  to  such  a  source. 

Another  alleged  miraculous  cure  recorded  by  Bois- 
sarie  (pp.  287-305)  is  that  of  Sister  Julienne.  She 
was  suffering  from  phthisis  of  considerable  standing, 
it  is  claimed,  and  after  bathing  in  the  waters  of  the 
grotto  was  made  perfectly  whole. 

It  is  well  known  that  this  disease  sometimes,  as  it 
were,  cures  itself.  ' '  Complete  arrest  of  the  disease, 
says  the  Dictionary  of  Practical  Medicine,  ' '  is  occa- 
sionally observed  under  the  most  unfavourable 
circumstances ;  such  cases  falsifying  every  rule  of 
prognosis. ' '  The  tubercular  growth  sometimes  dries 
up,  remaining  for  many  years  without  perceptible 


2i8     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

symptoms,  though  plainly  visible  on  post-mortem 
examination.  We  have  no  direct  proof  that  Sister 
Julienne  had  any  tubercular  growth;  or,  granting 
that  she  had,  that  it  wholly  disappeared  after  the 
cure.  The  disease  quite  likely  was  a  chronic  nerv- 
ous cough  along  with  bronchitis  and  dyspepsia,  and 
the  marked  improvement  at  the  time  of  the  bath 
was  probably  due  to  emotional  stimulation  attend- 
ing the  expected  cure. 

Instances  of  the  alleged  cure  of  atrophy,  organic 
paralysis,  ulcer,  and  cancer  are  included  in  these 
miracles  of  Lourdes.  Many  of  them  are  certainly 
of  an  extraordinary  character.  But  no  one  of  them, 
so  far  as  scientific  evidence  of  its  reality  can  be 
established,  transcends  the  maxim  laid  down  by 
Myers:  "Whatever  suggestion  can  cause,  hysteria 
can  cause;  and  whatever  suggestion  or  hysteria  can 
cause,  suggestion  can  cure." 

While  Lourdes  offers  the  most  remarkable  list  of 
cures  on  record,  this  is  largely  due  to  the  great  num- 
ber of  patients  who  annually  visit  its  waters  and  the 
greater  faith  in  the  treatment.  There  is  no  satisfac- 
tory evidence  that  the  vision  of  the  Virgin  was  any- 
thing more  than  a  subjective  hallucination  or  has 
anything  more  than  a  subjective  connection  with 
the  cures. 

From  our  survey  of  the  different  forms  of  healing 
that  we  have  considered  in  this  chapter  we  cannot 
help  drawing  the  conclusion  that  in  so  far  as  the 
alleged  cures  can  be  verified  as  actual  facts,  they 
are  adequately  accounted  for  as  the  effects  of  the 
mind  upon  the  body.     In  other  words,  they  are  all 


Miracles  of  Lourdes  219 

to  be  explained  on  the  principle  of  suggestion.  An 
idea  of  the  cure  first  became  fixed  in  the  mind  of 
the  patient  and  was  actually  responsible  for  the  re- 
sult. The  patient  accepted  without  reserve  the 
teaching  of  his  healer  and  then  put  forth  all  his 
energy  to  carry  the  teaching  into  efTect.  He  fol- 
lowed out  the  well-known  law  that  every  idea  if  left 
to  itself  will  "generate  its  actuality,"  All  opposi- 
tion to  the  idea  was  set  aside  by  the  argument  or 
dogmatic  assertion  of  the  healer,  or  by  some  sugges- 
tion from  within,  and  that  left  all  the  power  of  the 
organism  to  be  concentrated  upon  the  realisation  of 
the  imagined  cure.  The  only  difference  between 
this  method  of  cure  and  that  of  hypnotism  is  in 
this, — that  the  patient  in  the  former  case  is  wide 
awake,  while  in  the  latter  he  is  more  or  less  asleep. 

All  that  there  is  of  value  in  the  Christian  Science 
method  of  cure  comes  from  Mental  Science.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  Faith-cure  in  all  its  forms.  What 
is  distinctive  in  both  is  in  violent  opposition  to  all 
our  present  knowledge.  The  good  that  is  common 
to  all  these  methods  of  healing  disease  may  be 
summed  up  as  follows:  "Do  not  worry  about  your 
troubles.  Divert  your  attention  to  other  and  higher 
ideas.  In  this  way  you  will  reduce  your  ills  to  the 
minimum ;  and  do  all  you  can  to  regain  health  and 
strength."  It  is  astonishing  what  the  following  out 
of  these  simple  maxims  will  accomplish.  There  is 
nothing  in  them  incompatible  with  the  science  of 
medicine,  and  the  two  methods  should  not  rival 
each  other,  but  work  together  in  closer  alliance. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  mind  plays  a  far  greatet 


2  20     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

role  in  the  cure  of  disease  than  is  commonly  sup- 
posed. Where  there  is  no  absolute  lesion  of  a  nerve 
the  influence  of  the  mind  on  the  nervous  system  may 
reach  almost  any  limit.  And  as  the  nervous  system 
extends  to  all  parts  of  the  body,  every  organ  under 
certain  conditions  may  to  an  extraordinary  degree 
be  affected  by  its  power.  Psycho-therapeutics  has 
by  no  means  the  prominence  in  our  medical  schools 
that  it  deserves.  Although  still  in  its  infancy,  it 
should  become  one  of  the  chief  reliances  of  the  phy- 
sician and  should  constantly  be  applied  to  the  every- 
day affairs  of  life. 

In  the  infancy  of  the  race  all  remedies  for  disease 
were  applied  externally  to  the  skin.  Later  they 
were  often  taken  through  the  stomach.  At  a  more 
advanced  stage  of  knowledge  they  were  frequently 
injected  into  the  blood  by  the  hypodermic  needle. 
In  the  future  one  of  the  chief  methods  of  treating 
disease  will  be  a  mental  one.  The  mind  will  be 
taught  to  apply  its  healing  power  directly  to  the 
brain,  the  central  station  of  the  whole  body. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MIND-READING   AND    TELEPATHY 

JUST  as  guessing  at  dice-throwing  and  other 
games  of  chance  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
theory  of  probabilities  upon  which  all  scientific  in- 
ductions are  based  ;  and  as  the  hap-hazard  fancies  of 
the  alchemists  started  investigations  that  resulted 
in  the  science  of  modern  chemistry ;  so  the  will- 
ing game,  a  popular  drawing-room  amusement  of 
twenty-five  years  ago,  aroused  such  a  wide-spread 
interest  in  the  study  of  unusual  psychical  pheno- 
mena that  in  the  opinion  of  many  it  has  led  to  the 
discovery  of  a  new  mode  of  transmitting  thought. 
In  this  willing  game  somebody  is  selected  to  think 
intently  about  a  certain  act,  while  he  puts  his  hand 
upon  the  shoulder  of  another  member  of  the  com- 
pany and  silently  wills  that  he  perform  the  act. 
The  usual  result  is  that  if  the  act  is  a  simple  one, 
such  as  finding  a  concealed  pencil  or  combing  one's 
hair  before  a  mirror,  it  will  be  done  in  a  more  or 
less  satisfactory  manner.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the 
act  is  performed  with  surprising  promptness.  In 
the  careful  study  of  these  cases  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  where  the  agent,  as  one  who  starts  the 
game  is  called,  and  the  percipient  are  in  personal 

221 


222     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

contact  the  latter  is  usually  guided  by  the  agent's 
unconscious  influence. 

For  it  is  now  generally  admitted  that  every 
thought  we  think,  whether  we  wish  it  or  not,  tends 
to  express  itself  in  some  activity  of  our  organism. 
This  position  was  first  established  experimentally 
by  Professor  Joseph  Jastrow  and  an  account  of  his 
work  was  published  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly 
for  April  and  September,  1892,  under  the  title  of 
"Involuntary  Movements"  (reprinted  in  his  Fact 
arid  Fable  in  Psychology).  He  invented  a  delicately 
balanced  instrument  called  an  automatograph,  which 
measures  how  much  the  hand  or  head,  for  example, 
moves  when  we  look  at  a  given  colour,  count  the 
oscillations  of  a  pendulum,  read  from  a  printed 
page,  think  of  a  locality,  or  perform  any  similar  act. 
Many  others  have  since  experimented  in  a  similar 
way  and  all  seem  to  agree  that  every  thought  is  not 
only  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  brain  activity, 
but  also  strives  to  express  itself  through  some  ap- 
propriate muscular  activity.  When  the  percipient 
in  the  willing  game  is  blindfolded  and  put  in  per- 
sonal contact  with  the  agent  by  having  his  hand 
placed  upon  the  agent's  arm  or  shoulder,  he  will  in 
all  probability  simply  follow  the  actual  muscular 
pressure  at  that  point  although  no  conscious  inten- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  agent  is  leading  him  to  the 
desired  object.  If  the  percipient  is  not  blindfolded 
and  not  in  contact  with  the  agent,  he  will  often 
skilfully  read  the  face  when  that  is  visible. 

For   in    spite  of    the  fact    that    much  has   been 
claimed  in  the  past  for  facial  expression  that  is  in- 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     223 

consistent  with  the  natural  history  of  man  and  the 
laws  of  physiology,  all  admit  that  the  prominent 
characteristics  of  one's  intellect,  feelings,  and  will 
are  indelibly  written  upon  the  face.  In  early  in- 
fancy, while  the  mental  power  is  still  latent,  all  that 
the  face  records  is  the  presence  of  pleasure  or  pain. 
But  as  the  mind  develops,  the  muscles  of  the  lips 
and  mouth  take  on  a  form  adapted  to  the  ideas  ex- 
perienced,— those  of  the  eye  and  nostril  assume  an 
appropriate  mode  of  functioning  and  the  facial  lines 
become  fixed  and  definite.  Thus  it  is  that  what  a 
person  thinks  and  does  automatically  records  itself 
upon  the  face.  And  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  some  become  so  expert  in  reading  this  record 
that  for  many  practical  purposes  they  do  not  need 
to  be  told  in  words  about  its  contents. 

Some  persons  skilled  at  cards  can  tell  by  a  glance 
at  the  face  of  their  opponent  what  sort  of  a  hand  he 
holds  —  good,  bad,  or  indifferent.  Gamblers  often 
risk  their  fortunes  on  this  glance.  In  the  willing 
game  a  skilful  operator  can  judge  with  a  high  degree 
of  accuracy  from  the  countenance  of  his  spectators 
whether  the  thing  he  is  doing  is  the  right  or  wrong 
thing  toward  the  accomplishment  of  the  end  that 
they  all  have  in  common.  It  is  of  course  assumed 
in  this  game  that  all  are  willing  with  all  their  power 
to  have  the  experiment  succeed.  Hence  their  facial 
muscles  express  their  feelings  to  a  far  higher  degree 
than  would  ordinarily  be  the  case  when  the  record  is 
being  made  without  conscious  effort. 

These  facts  explain  also,  in  large  measure  at  least, 
the  platform  exhibitions  of  such  noted  "mind-read- 


2  24     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

ers"  as  Cumberland,  Bishop,  and  Randall  Brown. 
They  all  employed  some  form  of  personal  contact. 
Frequently  they  took  hold  of  the  hand  of  the  per- 
son whose  thoughts  they  were  to  read  and  held  it 
against  some  part  of  their  own  person.  They  pro- 
bably possessed  by  nature  great  delicacy  of  touch, 
which  was  developed  by  training  to  such  perfection 
that  they  were  able  by  simple  contact  to  interpret 
the  slight  movements  of  the  hand  muscles  of  others 
and  thus  divine  their  thoughts.  It  is  altogether 
likely  that  all  mind-reading  of  the  ordinary  sort  is 
simply  muscle-reading.  So  far  as  these  experiences 
are  concerned,  the  famous  assertion  of  an  eminent 
muscle-reader  that  all  willing  is  pushing  or  pulling 
is  not  far  from  the  truth.  At  all  events  there  is  no 
proof  here  of  what  is  properly  called  thought-trans- 
ference. 

To  prepare  the  way  for  a  genuine  case  of  this  sort, 
we  must  first  eliminate  the  very  conditions  that 
make  the  platform  conjurer  so  successful.  All  pos- 
sibility of  personal  contact  must  be  removed  and 
every  opportunity  to  communicate  by  look,  or 
gesture,  or  any  other  physical  means  now  known 
to  us  must  be  cut  off.  Even  the  good  faith  of  ex- 
perimenters is  not  always  to  be  relied  upon.  The 
glory  of  originating  and  perpetuating  a  successful 
fraud  has  great  attractions  for  many  minds  and  has 
been  a  suf^cient  motive  to  lead  some  astray  who 
were  otherwise  above  suspicion.  Of  course  a  case 
capable  of  adequate  explanation  by  collusion  stands 
self-condemned. 

It  may  be  well  to  observe  at  this  point  that  we 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     225 

are  not  dealing  here  with  the  subject  of  apparitions, 
or  with  clairvoyance.  Those  that  believe  in  ghosts 
and  haunted  houses  hold  that  communications  are 
made  to  them  through  the  ordinary  channels  of  the 
eye  or  ear.  The  spirit  of  the  deceased  person  takes 
up  its  abode  in  at  least  some  quasi-material  object 
and  manifests  itself  through  some  one  of  the  known 
senses.  The  primary  idea  about  thought-transfer- 
ence is  that  communications  are  made  by  super- 
normal means.  Clairvoyance  is  the  clear  seeing  of 
things  concealed  from  normal  sight,  especially  what 
is  happening  at  a  distance.  By  means  of  this  power 
it  is  alleged  that  some  people  see  through  stone 
walls,  as  well  as  down  into  deep  caverns,  and  can 
tell  what  is  transpiring  on  some  remote  planet.  At 
all  events  it  deals  with  impersonal  facts — facts  not 
communicated  from  one  mind  to  another — and  thus 
does  not  come  within  the  realm  of  our  present  study. 

The  agent  and  percipient  in  a  test  of  thought- 
transference  should,  if  possible,  receive  from  a  third 
party  the  idea  to  be  transferred,  and  the  latter  should 
select  the  idea  by  lot,  or  some  similar  method. 
He  should  select  it  in  silence,  write  it  down,  and 
show  it  to  reliable  observers  before  handing  it  to  the 
agent.  The  percipient  should  be  blindfolded  and  in 
a  separate  room  from  the  agent.  No  conversation 
should  be  allowed  between  them  or  with  others. 

Nearly  all  the  recorded  experiments  made  with 
approximate  regard  for  these  conditions  have  been 
published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychi- 
cal Research.     A  few  of  those  generally  regarded 

by  the  best  authorities  on  the  subject  as  standard 
15 


2  26     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

cases  will  here  be  given,  beginning  with  the  experi- 
ments made  when  the  agents  and  percipients  were 
in  the  normal  wakeful  state  and  also  with  the  sim- 
plest kind  of  experiments,  namely,  those  with  cards 
and  drawings.  In  an  experiment  reported  by  Mal- 
colm Guthrie,  of  Liverpool,  in  which  he  was  himself 
the  agent  and  a  Miss  E.  the  percipient,  the  first  six 
trials  of  a  series  in  reproducing  such  simple  diagrams 
as  a  circle,  a  square,  a  tuning-fork,  a  bird,  and  the 
like,  were  all  successful.  Out  of  150  trials  with 
various  agents  made  by  Miss  E.,  the  majority  were 
successful  entirely  or  in  part. 

At  another  time  Miss  E.  and  Miss  R.,  of  Liver- 
pool, made  713  experiments  with  various  agents  in 
transferring  ideas  and  sensations  of  all  sorts;  461 
were  completely  or  partially  successful  and  the  rest 
failures. 

A  case  often  referred  to  under  experiments  of  this 
sort  in  the  normal  state  is  one  recorded  by  Dr.  Blair 
Thaw,  of  New  York.  It  was  made  April  28,  1892, 
Dr.  Thaw  himself  being  the  percipient  and  his  wife 
the  agent.  Not  only  were  the  percipient's  eyes 
blindfolded,  but  the  objects  were  so  held  as  to  be 
without  his  range  of  vision.  Dr.  Thaw  also  had  his 
ears  mufifled  and  no  other  persons  were  present  ex- 
cept Mrs.  Thaw  and  a  friend,  Mr.  Wyatt.  The  full 
record  of  these  experiments  made  from  notes  care- 
fully taken  at  the  time  is  published  in  the  Proceed- 
ings of  tJie  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  vol.  viii. 

From  this  record  it  appears  that  the  first  object 
taken,  an  orange-red  silk  pin-cushion  in  the  form  of 
an  apple,  was  guessed  as  "A  disc,  red  or  orange. 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     227 

a  pin-cushion."  The  second  object  was  a  short 
lead-pencil  covered  with  nickel.  The  percipient 
guessed:  "Something  white  or  light,  a  card.  I 
thought  of  Mr.  Wyatt's  silver  pencil."  For  a 
third  object  a  dark  violet  in  Mr.  Wyatt's  buttonhole 
was  taken  The  guess  was  : ' '  Something  dark.  Not 
very  big.  Longish,  narrow,  soft,"  etc.  The  fourth 
object  was  a  watch,  dull  silver  with  filigree,  and  the 
response  was:  "Yellow  or  dirty  ivory.  Not  very 
big.  Like  carving  on  it."  Then  playing-cards 
were  taken.  The  first  object  was  the  king  of 
spades.  Guess,  "7  of  spades."  Second  object  4 
of  clubs.  Guess,  "4  of  clubs."  Third  object  5  of 
spades.  Guess,  "  5  of  diamonds."  With  numbers 
the  first  taken  was  4.  Guess,  "4."  Second  num- 
ber 6.  Guess,  "  5  or  6."  Third  number  3.  Guess, 
"3."  Fourth  number  i.  Guess,  "it  is  either  7  or 
I."       Fifth  number  2.     Guess,  "9,  8." 

Podmore  in  commenting  upon  this  record  is  pro- 
bably right  in  saying  that  while  some  of  these  ex- 
periments can  be  adequately  accounted  for,  as  in 
professional  mind-reading,  by  indications  uncon- 
sciously given  by  the  agent  and  also  in  some  in- 
stances unconsciously  received  by  the  percipient, 
yet  a  residuum  remains  to  which  such  an  explanation 
will  hardly  apply,  especially  where  the  perception 
came  gradually  and  in  a  visual  form.  Still  there  is 
evidence  to  show  that  what  is  unconsciously  re- 
ceived through  one  sense  may  give  rise  in  conscious- 
ness to  images  of  another  sense.  That  is  to  say,  I 
may  unconsciously  touch  an  object  and  then  pro- 
duce in  consciousness  an   image  of  the  object  as 


2  28     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

seen.  Mr.  H.  G.  Rawson,  in  vol.  xi.  of  the  Pro- 
ceedings, gives  an  account  of  some  experiments  with 
two  ladies,  Mrs.  L.  and  Mrs.  B.,  that  for  correct 
card  and  diagram  guesses  has  rarely  been  equalled 
in  any  tests  of  this  sort  in  the  normal  state.  And 
Miss  X.  has  published  in  vol.  vi.  of  the  Proceedings 
a  striking  series  of  telepathic  interchange  of  experi- 
ences over  a  long  distance  with  Miss  D.  Each  kept 
independent  records  made  at  the  time  the  experi- 
ences occurred.  Fourteen  out  of  twenty  of  these 
entries  refer  to  the  consciousness  of  Miss  D.  that 
Miss  X.  was  playing  at  that  hour  a  definite  piece  of 
music. 

The  case  of  Madame  Helena  Blavatsky,  who  as- 
tonished the  world  with  her  claims  to  telepathic 
power  some  years  ago,  should  here  be  mentioned. 
Madame  Blavatsky  was  a  Russian  lady  of  repute 
who,  having  developed  a  remarkable  passion  for 
travel  in  search  of  occult  knowledge,  and  having 
visited  alone  several  parts  of  the  Orient  that  were 
supposed  to  be  inaccessible  to  foreigners,  especially 
to  women,  came  to  New  York  in  1873  and  organised 
the  Theosophical  Society.  Her  followers  are  num- 
bered by  the  thousands  in  this  and  other  lands, 
being  perhaps  most  numerous  in  India,  where  she 
spent  many  of  her  last  years,  though  she  died  in 
London  in  1891.  It  was  claimed  by  Madame  Bla- 
vatsky that  the  idea  upon  which  her  society  was  based 
had  been  revealed  to  her  by  telepathic  messages 
from  certain  Mahatmas,  or  "Brothers,"  who  dwelt 
in  the  inaccessible  fastnesses  of  the  Thibetan  Hima- 
layas.    She  herself  was  simply  their  mouthpiece. 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     229 

These  Brothers,  she  asserted,  being  far  removed 
from  all  contact  with  ordinary  mortals,  by  untold 
generations  of  austere  simplicity  in  their  mode  of 
life  and  ceaseless  cultivation  of  their  spiritual  facul- 
ties, had  attained  an  insight  into  the  secrets  of 
nature  and  a  knowledge  of  the  processes  of  the 
cosmos  that  no  effort  of  man  could  possibly  acquire. 
The  revelations  that  they  had  chosen  to  make  to  her 
were  first  published  in  New  York  in  1877.  Her  now 
famous  book  containing  them  with  some  exposi- 
tions of  her  own  bore  the  title  of  his  Unveiled. 
This  book  and  the  periodical  called  The  Theosophist, 
which  she  edited,  exerted  so  great  an  influence  upon 
the  world  of  thought  that  a  society  was  formed  in 
England  in  1882,  made  up  of  eminent  statesmen  and 
scholars,  to  investigate  her  telepathic  claims  and 
other  similar  psychic  phenomena.  In  1884  the  so- 
ciety, then  known  as  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search, employed  Dr.  Richard  Hodgson,  a  fellow  of 
St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  to  go  to  India, 
where  Madame  Blavatsky  was  at  that  time  gaining 
many  adherents,  study  the  case  thoroughly,  and 
report  the  facts.  He  found  that  the  letters  from 
Koot  Hoomi,  as  the  Master  of  these  alleged  saints 
in  the  Thibetan  Himalayas  was  called,  upon  which 
Madame  Blavatsky  based  her  new  religion,  were 
written  by  herself  or  at  her  dictation.  They  were 
so  placed  that  they  could  be  discovered  at  such  an 
opportune  time  as  would  convince  her  dupes  of  their 
genuineness.  Sometimes  these  letters  dropped  down 
from  the  air,  sometimes  they  were  found  in  cushions 
and  on  trees,  sometimes  in  the  corners  of  private 


230     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

drawers,  or  enclosed  in  envelopes  as  official  tele- 
grams. 

Madame  Blavatsky  established  a  shrine  in  the 
headquarters  of  the  sect  at  Adyar,  India,  where,  it 
was  alleged,  notes  to  the  Brothers  were  answered 
almost  instanter.  Mr.  Hodgson  gives  a  description 
of  the  shrine  and  its  surroundings  in  his  report.  It 
appears  to  have  been  a  small  cupboard  placed  against 
the  wall  between  the  occult  room  and  Madame  Bla- 
vatsky's  bedroom.  A  slide  in  the  wall  enabled  her 
to  insert  in  the  cupboard  a  proper  answer  to  any 
note  she  might  extract  from  it.  To  inquire  into  the 
working  of  the  shrine  was  of  course  regarded  by  its 
devotees  as  rank  sacrilege. 

Mr.  Hodgson  gives  the  following  from  his  own 
experience  while  in  conversation  with  two  of  Ma- 
dame Blavatsky 's  accomplices: 

"  At  this  moment  something  white  appeared,  touched 
my  hair,  and  fell  on  the  floor.  It  was  a  letter.  I  picked 
it  up.  It  was  addressed  to  myself.  M.  and  Madame 
Coulomb  were  sitting  near  me  and  in  front  of  me.  I  had 
noticed  no  motion  on  their  part  which  could  account  for 
the  appearance  of  the  letter.  Examining  the  ceiling  as 
I  stood  I  could  detect  no  flaw;  it  appeared  intact.  On 
opening  the  letter  I  found  it  referred  to  the  conversa- 
tion which  had  just  taken  place." 

He  afterwards  ascertained  that  the  letter  had  been 
inserted  in  a  crevice  in  the  ceiling  with  one  end  of  a 
thread  so  loosely  passed  around  it  that  when  an 
assistant  outside  the  room  pulled  the  other  end  at  a 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     231 

given  signal  the  thread  gave  way  and  let  the  letter 
fall. 

From  this  and  all  the  evidence  we  can  gather  on 
the  matter  we  must  conclude  that  the  alleged  tele- 
pathic communications  of  Madame  Blavatsky  with 
these  so-called  Brothers  were  based  on  forgery  and 
fraud.  In  fact,  in  her  own  confession  to  Mr.  Solov- 
yoff,  published  after  her  death,  she  says  herself  in 
justification  of  her  course  :  "What  is  one  to  do  when 
in  order  to  rule  men  it  is  necessary  to  deceive 
them?"  In  spite  of  all  this  Madame  Blavatsky 
was  a  truly  remarkable  personality.  Many  of  her 
psychological  experiences  were  extraordinary.  But 
probably  the  injury  to  her  spine  received  in  falling 
from  her  horse  in  Thibet,  in  consequence  of  which 
she  led  for  eighteen  months  a  dual  existence,  had 
much  to  do  with  their  abnormal  character. 

Before  leaving  these  alleged  evidences  of  telepathy 
in  normal  wakefulness  it  should  be  added  that  of  the 
many  hundred  cases  examined  by  the  careful  and 
unbiassed  investigators  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,  including  forewarnings  of  impending  dis- 
aster, notification  of  the  death  of  friends  transmitted 
instantaneously  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  the 
earth,  letters  identical  in  character  crossing  each 
other  in  transmission,  and  the  like,  not  one  of  them 
has  been  considered  as  proved.  The  proper  docu- 
ments to  substantiate  them  have  not  been  forthcom- 
ing, even  when  the  writing  of  such  documents  was 
a  part  of  the  case  in  question. 

Of  all  the  cases  of  alleged  telepathy  in  ordinary 
sleep,  Podmore,  in  his  Studies  in  Psychical  Research, 


232     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

selects  the  following,  reported  by  Dr.  Ermacora  of 
Padua,  as  the  most  characteristic :  The  agent  was 
Signorina  Maria  Mangini,  living  with  her  mother  in 
Padua,  and  Angelina  Cavazzoni,  a  little  cousin  of 
the  agent  living  in  the  same  house  with  herself,  but 
sleeping  in  an  adjoining  room.  After  Angelina 
went  to  bed,  Dr.  Ermacora  would  impress  upon  the 
mind  of  Maria,  who  passed  into  a  somnambulistic 
state,  a  certain  scene  as  of  a  regatta  at  Venice  seen 
from  the  Rialto,  and  Angelina  would  relate  the  same 
as  her  dream  in  the  morning.  A  drawing  selected 
from  a  large  number  would  be  shown  to  Maria,  and 
Angelina  would  select  the  right  one  when  the  whole 
set  was  handed  to  her  in  the  morning.  The  suc- 
cesses generally  attained  in  these  trials  were,  accord- 
ing to  Podmore,  a  very  conservative  critic,  "de- 
cidedly greater  than  chance  would  account  for." 

The  evidence  for  telepathy  is  undoubtedly  greatly 
strengthened  when  we  come  to  consider  it  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  hypnotic  trance.  It  is  claimed  by 
some  that  telepathy,  like  hypnotism,  is  a  reversion 
to  a  primordial  condition  which  has  now  been  out- 
grown by  the  normal  individual,  and  therefore  we 
ought  to  expect  that  it  would  be  noticeable  in 
hypnotic  subjects.  Others  say  that  as  suggestion 
is  the  characteristic  feature  of  hypnotism,  it  is 
natural  that  telepathy  should  most  easily  show  itself 
in  the  hypnotic  state.  At  any  rate,  the  fact  is  that 
hypnotism  is  remarkably  favourable  to  telepathy,  as 
will  be  seen  when  we  examine  some  of  the  typical 
cases  now  carefully  recorded  for  our  study.  In 
1889  Professor  and  Mrs.  Sidgwick  conducted  a  care- 


Mind- Reading  and  Telepathy     233 

ful  series  of  experiments  in  the  transference  of  num- 
bers with  G.  A.  Smith  as  the  agent  and  hypnotist. 
The  hypnotised  subjects  sat  in  the  same  room  with 
the  experimenters  a  few  feet  away  with  their  faces 
toward  the  wall.  The  numbers  were  drawn  from  a 
bag  by  Professor  Sidgwick  and  handed  to  Mr.  Smith 
to  gaze  at.  Six  hundred  and  forty-four  trials  were 
made  with  four  percipients.  Of  these  117  were  en- 
tirely successful,  while  14  more  were  correct  as  to  the 
digits,  but  they  were  not  in  the  right  order.  The 
probable  number  of  successes  by  chance  would  have 
been  only  8.  There  were  also  218  trials  made  with 
the  percipients  in  different  rooms.  Of  these  9 
were  successful,  3  being  the  probable  number  by 
chance. 

Later  trials  were  made  by  using  mental  pictures 
instead  of  numbers.  The  subjects  were  such  things 
as  a  mouse  in  a  trap,  a  choir  boy,  a  baby  in  a  car- 
riage with  a  nurse.  In  31  out  of  71  such  trials, 
when  Mr.  Smith  and  the  percipient  were  in  the  same 
room,  the  percipient  succeeded  in  giving  an  accurate 
description  of  the  supposed  object.  When  the  per- 
cipient was  in  a  different  room,  only  2  out  of  55  trials 
succeeded  [Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,  vols.  vi.  and  viii.).  The  only  normal  way 
for  Mr.  Smith  to  communicate  to  the  percipients 
was  by  unconsciously  whispering.  This  was  espe- 
cially guarded  against  by  the  experimenters  and  no 
sign  of  it  was  discovered.  The  numbers  guessed  in 
the  failures  did  not  sound  like  the  right  ones,  as 
would  have  been  the  case,  even  if,  as  some  alleged, 
Mr.  Smith  was  whispering  with  his  lips  closed  and 


234     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

the  percipients  were  in  a  state  of  hyperaesthesia  as 
to  their  hearing  powers. 

Mrs.  Sidgwick  also  conducted  some  experiments 
at  Brighton  in  conjunction  with  Miss  Alice  Johnson, 
where  Mr.  Smith  was  agent  and  the  percipients  were 
in  different  stories  of  the  house.  The  agent  and  the 
percipients  were  closely  watched  and  hearing  made 
practically  impossible.  Out  of  252  trials  with  double 
numbers  27  were  completely  successful  and  8  nearly 
so  {Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research^ 
vol.  viii.). 

A  series  of  successful  experiments  in  guessing 
drawings  in  the  hypnotic  state  is  reported  in  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  vol.  v. , 
by  Professor  Richet.  He  found  also  that  his  sub- 
jects made  30  correct  guesses  out  of  180,  when  the 
drawing  was  enclosed  in  an  envelope  and  unknown 
to  any  one  except  the  person  enclosing  it,  who  was 
absent  when  the  guesses  were  made. 

There  are  many  cases  recorded  in  which  the  power 
of  the  telepathic  impulse  is  said  to  show  its  direct 
effect  upon  the  organism  itself.  Among  the  experi- 
ments of  Mr.  Edmund  Gurney  in  which  Mrs.  Sidg- 
wick also  took  an  active  part  is  the  following :  The 
subject,  after  being  hypnotised,  had  his  hands  put 
through  a  hole  in  a  high  screen  so  arranged  that  he 
could  not  see  them.  The  agent  concentrated  his 
thought  upon  one  particular  finger  and  willed  it  to 
be  rigid  and  insensitive.  Such  was  the  fact.  The 
percipient  did  not  know  what  finger  was  to  be 
selected  and  could  not  by  his  own  conscious  effort 
produce  any  such  result.     Some  cases  of  table  turn- 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     235 

ing  are  thought  to  be  due  to  the  unexpressed  volition 
of  a  person  at  a  distance  from  the  table  which  has 
so  affected  the  minds  of  the  sitters  that  they  have 
involuntarily  brought  the  movement  about. 

Professor  William  James,  while  admitting  the 
fragmentary  character  of  much  of  this  kind  of  evi- 
dence and  also  that  many  reported  experiments  are 
not  entirely  faultless,  does  not  hesitate  to  say  :  "The 
mass,  however,  is  decidedly  imposing,  and  if  more 
and  more  of  this  solitary  kind  of  evidence  should 
accumulate,  it  would  probably  end  by  convincing 
the  world." 

When  we  come  to  examine  the  cases  of  telepathy 
at  long  distance  the  number  is  not  imposing,  but 
quite  the  opposite.  But  since  it  is  true  of  all  the 
forces  that  we  know  anything  about  that  they  dimin- 
ish in  intensity  according  to  distance,  it  ought  to  be 
expected  that  the  same  would  be  true  of  this.  Then, 
too,  the  time  and  trouble  necessary  to  conduct  ex- 
periments of  this  sort  would  naturally  lessen  the 
number.  Still  the  few  cases  we  do  have  throw  an 
unusual  amount  of  light  upon  our  subject. 

Take  the  case  reported  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Hammond, 
which  he  describes  as  follows: 

"  There  is  a  subject  upon  whom  I  sometimes  operate 
whom  I  can  shut  up  in  a  room  with  an  observer,  while  I 
go  into  another  closed  room  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
feet  or  more  with  another  observer.  This  one,  for  in- 
stance, scratches  my  hand  with  a  pin,  and  instantly  the 
hypnotised  subject  rubs  his  corresponding  hand  and 
says,  '  Don't  scratch  my  hand  so,'  or  my  hair  is  pulled, 
and  immediately  he  puts  his  hand  to  his  head  and  says, 


236     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

'  Don't  pull  my  hair,'  and  so  on,  feeling  every  sensation 
that  I  experience  "  (quoted  from  Mason's  Telepathy  and 
the  Sublimifial  Self,  p.  37). 

Here  the  definite  sensations  of  one  person  are  per- 
ceived by  another  person  one  hundred  feet  away 
through  at  least  two  partitions,  all  ordinary  modes 
of  communication  being  cut  off. 

One  of  the  most  famous  cases  of  alleged  tele- 
pathy at  a  distance  is  that  of  Madame  B.,  of  Havre, 
France.  Twenty-five  trials  were  made  with  her 
without  her  knowledge  between  October,  1885,  and 
May,  1886.  Eighteen  of  these  trials  were  com- 
pletely successful  and  four  practically  so.  There  is 
little  room,  therefore,  for  explaining  them  on  the 
theory  of  chance.  In  some  of  these  trials  Dr.  Gil- 
bert, an  eminent  physician  of  Havre,  was  the  agent ; 
in  others,  Professor  Pierre  Janet,  of  the  same  city. 
At  several  of  them  Dr.  Frederic  W.  H.  Myers  and 
his  brother,  Dr.  A,  T.  Myers,  were  present,  and  the 
former  published  an  account  of  the  experiments 
they  witnessed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research,  vol.  iv.  The  fifth  and  sixth  are 
here  quoted  and  fairly  represent  them  all : 

"  (V.)  On  the  23rd,  M.  Janet,  who  had  woke  her 
(Madame  B.)  up,  and  left  her  awake,  lunched  in  our 
company,  and  retired  to  his  own  house  at  4.30  (a  time 
chosen  by  lot)  to  try  to  put  her  to  sleep  from  thence. 
At  5.5  we  all  entered  the  salon  of  the  Pavilion,  and  found 
her  asleep  with  shut  eyes,  but  sewing  vigorously  (being 
in  that  stage  in  which  movements,  once  suggested,  are 
automatically  continued).      Passing   into   the   talkative 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     237 

state,  she  said  to  M.  Janet:  '  C'est  vous  qui  m'avez  fait 
dormir  a  quatre  heures  et  demi.'  The  impression  as  to 
the  hour  may  have  been  a  suggestion  received  from  M. 
Janet's  mind.  We  tried  to  make  her  believe  that  it  was 
M.  Gilbert  who  had  sent  her  to  sleep,  but  she  maintained 
that  she  had  felt  that  it  was  M.  Janet. 

"  (VI.)  On  April  24th,  the  whole  party  chanced  to 
meet  at  M.  Janet's  house  at  3  p.m.  and  he  then,  at  my 
suggestion,  entered  his  study  to  will  that  Madame  B. 
should  sleep.  We  waited  in  his  garden,  and  at  3.20  pro- 
ceeded together  to  the  Pavilion,  which  I  entered  first  at 
3.30,  and  found  Madame  B.  profoundly  sleeping  over  her 
sewing,  having  ceased  to  sew.  Becoming  talkative,  she 
said  to  M.  Janet:  'C'est  vous  qui  m'avez  command^.' 
She  said  she  fell  asleep  at  3.5  p.m." 

Experiments  of  a  similar  nature  on  various  subjects 
have  been  successfully  made  by  Ochorowitz,  Richet, 
Hericourt,  Dufay,  Latour,  and  many  others,  the 
distance  through  which  the  willing  power  was  suc- 
cessfully exerted  being  gradually  extended  from  an 
adjacent  room  to  a  distant  part  of  the  city. 

But  the  evidence  for  telepathy  reaches  its  climax  in 
the  now  famous  case  of  Mrs.  Piper,  of  whom  Pro- 
fessor William  James  of  Harvard  says:  "This  lady 
shows  a  profound  intimacy,  not  so  much  with  the  act- 
ual passing  thoughts  of  her  sitters  as  with  the  whole 
reservoir  of  their  memory  or  potential  thinking"; 
and  he  asserts  of  himself  that  he  is  "as  convinced 
of  the  reality  of  the  phenomena  in  her  as  he  can  be 
convinced  of  anything  in  the  world."  Mrs.  Piper 
is  a  Boston  lady  who  first  attracted  the  attention  of 
Professor  James  in  1885.     He  had  sittings  with  her 


238     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

many  times  alone  that  year,  sometimes  also  in  com- 
pany with  his  wife,  and  once  he  took  with  him  Rev. 
Minot  J.  Savage.  He  also  sent  a  large  number  of 
persons  to  have  sittings  with  her  and  in  no  case  were 
their  names  announced  to  the  medium.  A  report 
on  these  experiments  was  published  by  Professor 
James  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  branch  of 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  for  1886. 

Mrs.  Piper's  fame  soon  reached  England,  and  in 
1887  Dr.  Richard  Hodgson  was  sent  over  to  this 
country  to  examine  the  case  and  make  a  report  upon 
it.  In  order  to  assure  himself  that  neither  Mr.  nor 
Mrs.  Piper  took  any  means  to  find  out  the  history 
or  condition  of  possible  sitters,  he  had  them  both 
carefully  watched  by  detectives  for  several  weeks, 
but  nothing  of  the  sort  was  discovered.  He  was 
entirely  convinced  of  the  genuineness  of  the  phe- 
nomena, and  in  1889  he  arranged  to  have  Mrs.  Piper 
go  to  England  and  give  sittings  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research.  To  avoid  all 
possible  suspicion  of  fraud,  she  was  met  at  the  land- 
ing by  Professor  Lodge,  who  had  her  baggage  care- 
fully examined  for  any  data  that  might  bear  upon  the 
object  of  her  visit,  or  help  her  in  the  interviews  she 
was  expected  to  give.  All  her  correspondence  while 
she  was  in  the  country  was  read,  and  all  her  move- 
ments were  kept  under  the  close  inspection  of  the 
members  of  the  society  at  whose  homes  she  was  en- 
tertained. Mrs.  Piper  has  been  at  the  service  of  the 
Society  for  Psychical  Research  for  over  fifteen  years 
(a  part  of  the  time  on  a  small  salary),  giving  sittings 
to  persons  who  were  not  members  as  well  as  to  those 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     239 

who  were.  Yet  not  the  slightest  circumstance  has 
ever  arisen  reflecting  upon  her  honesty. 

The  name  of  the  person  who  purports  to  be 
speaking  through  Mrs.  Piper  in  her  trance  is  usually 
"Dr.  Phinuit,"  perhaps  a  name  accidentally  selected 
to  represent  her  trance  personality.  Generally  what 
Dr.  Phinuit  says  is  trivial  and  often  irrelevant,  but 
at  times  it  is  just  the  reverse.  Information  known 
only  to  the  sitters,  even  long-forgotten  bits  of  family 
history,  detailed  descriptions  of  deceased  friends, 
their  personal  and  intellectual  characteristics,  diag- 
noses of  diseases  of  absent  persons  wholly  unknown 
to  Mrs.  Piper  but  known  to  the  sitter,  and  such- 
like matters  will  pour  forth  in  great  abundance  to 
the  utter  astonishment  of  all. 

The  case  of  Mr.  J.  T.  Clarke  was  the  first  to  at- 
tract special  attention.  He  had  a  long  sitting  with 
Mrs.  Piper  in  the  house  of  Professor  William  James, 
September  20,  1889.  The  control  not  only  told  him 
a  great  many  things  about  himself  and  family  as  well 
as  his  business  troubles  that  no  one  knew  but  him- 
self, but  also  asserted  some  things  he  denied  on  the 
spot  which  were  afterwards  found  to  be  correct. 
Among  others,  that  he  had  some  red-stamped  checks 
in  his  pocket  that  would  be  of  use  to  him.  The 
words  of  the  control  were:  "What  are  these  tickets 
that  you  have  in  your  pocket?  There  are  figures  on 
them  stamped  in  red,  and  they  are  signed  with  names 
underneath.  They  will  be  of  value  to  you  ;  you  will 
get  something  out  of  them."  "No,  I  have  nothing 
of  the  kind  in  my  pocket,"  replied  Mr.  Clarke. 
Afterwards  Mr.  Clarke  found  on  examination  that 


240     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

he  actually  had  in  an  inside  pocket  two  checks 
endorsed  on  the  back  as  described  and  stamped 
with  large  red  numbers.  It  is  hard  to  account 
for  this  incident  except  on  the  theory  of  tele- 
pathic transference  of  ideas  latent  in  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Clarke. 

Professor  Lodge  had  a  similar  experience  with  an 
old  watch  which  he  handed  to  Mrs.  Piper  when  in 
a  state  of  trance.  Dr.  Phinuit  told  many  truthful, 
but  unusual  and  curious  things  about  its  history 
that  Professor  Lodge  himself  could  not  recollect ; 
and  if  he  had  ever  known  them  at  all  he  had  heard 
them  in  his  early  boyhood.  In  scores  of  other  in- 
stances, according  to  Professor  Lodge,  Mrs.  Piper's 
control  reproduced  details  that  were  "unknown  to, 
or  forgotten  by,  or  unknowable  to,  persons  present." 

Some  years  ago  a  personal  friend  of  Dr.  Hodgson, 
a  writer  of  some  note  by  the  name  of  George  Pelham, 
residing  in  New  York  City,  made  a  promise  that  if 
he  (Pelham)  died  first  and  continued  to  exist,  he 
would  make  every  effort  possible  to  communicate 
with  him.  This  friend  died  in  February,  1892,  and  in 
March  of  the  same  year,  when  one  of  Mr.  Pelham's 
friends  was  having  a  sitting  with  Mrs.  Piper,  Dr. 
Phinuit  claimed  that  he  was  simply  acting  as  a  medium 
for  George  Pelham.  Entirely  without  Mrs.  Piper's 
knowledge  a  large  number  of  Pelham's  friends  had 
sittings  under  assumed  names.  In  no  case  did 
George  Pelham  as  control  fail  to  recognise  them 
and  call  them  by  their  right  names.  The  know- 
ledge that  Mrs.  Piper  in  this  trance  state  had  of  the 
personal  affairs  of  Mr.  Pelham,  his  manuscripts,  his 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     241 

property,  his  associates,  and  especially  his  relation 
to  Dr.  Hodgson — a  knowledge  communicated  both 
by  voice  and  by  writing — was  so  full  and  accurate 
that  no  doubt  was  left  in  the  minds  of  the  sitters, 
including  Dr.  Hodgson,  that  Mrs.  Piper  had  extra- 
ordinary telepathic  powers. 

There  was  published  in  1901,  as  volume  xvi.  of 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 
a  remarkable  work  of  some  650  pages  by  Professor 
James  H.  Hyslop,  of  Columbia  University,  giving 
an  account  of  his  experiments  with  Mrs.  Piper. 
They  began  in  December,  1898,  and  continued  at 
irregular  intervals  for  about  a  year.  The  sittings 
were  known  only  to  Dr.  Hodgson  and  Mrs.  Hyslop 
and  were  not  arranged  for  by  Mrs.  Piper  when  in 
her  normal  condition,  but  in  her  trance  state.  Pro- 
fessor Hyslop  sat  under  the  assumed  name  of  Mr. 
Smith  and  wore  a  mask.  Mrs.  Piper  did  not  hear  his 
voice  even,  except  while  in  a  trance.  The  sittings 
were  conducted  in  an  ordinary  room  in  open  day- 
light and  not  confined  to  Mrs.  Piper's  house  alone. 
Everything  was  done  to  lessen  the  importance  of  the 
way  of  obtaining  the  communications  and  to  fix  the 
attention  solely  upon  their  content.  After  each  sit- 
ting, usually  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  the 
notes  made  at  the  time  were  revised  by  Dr.  Hodg- 
son and  Professor  Hyslop  and  sent  to  the  printer. 
Among  the  principal  persons  who  purported  to  com- 
municate with  Professor  Hyslop  through  Mrs.  Piper 
were  his  father,  Robert  Hyslop,  who  died  on  the  29th 
of  August,  1896,  his  little  brother  Charles,  who  died 

in  1864,  and  a  sister  Anna,  still  younger,  who  died 
16 


242     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

the  same  year.  His  mother,  an  uncle,  and  a  cousin 
occasionally  appear  according  to  the  record.  All 
the  communicators  were  dead  at  the  time  of  the  first 
sitting. 

Professor  Hyslop's  purpose  in  conducting  these 
experiments  was  to  establish  personal  identity  after 
death.  We  are  now  to  examine  the  record  solely  for 
evidence  of  supernormal  or  telepathic  power.  One 
of  the  most  consistent  of  all  the  alleged  communica- 
tions from  Professor  Hyslop's  father  as  Mrs.  Piper's 
control  was  made  at  the  sitting  on  December  26, 
1898  (page  333): 

"And  long  before  the  sun  shall  set  for  you  I  will  give 
you  a  full  and  complete  account  of  your  old  father, 
James.  Keep  quiet,  do  not  worry  about  anything,  as  I 
used  to  say.  It  does  not  pay.  Remember  this  ?  (Smith: 
Yes,  father,  I  remember  that  well.)  That,  James,  was 
my  advice  always  and  it  is  still  the  same.  You  are  not 
the  strongest  man,  you  know,  and  health  is  important  for 
you.  Cheer  up  now  and  be  quite  yourself.  (Smith: 
Yes,  father,  I  shall.  I  am  glad  to  hear  this  advice.) 
Remember  it  does  not  pay  and  life  is  too  short  there  for 
you  to  spend  it  in  worrying.  You  will  come  out  all  safe 
and  well  and  will  one  day  be  united  with  us  and  we  shall 
meet  face  to  face  and  you  will  know  me  well." 

And  much  more  to  the  same  effect. 

Professor  Hyslop  asserts  that  many  of  the  phrases 
in  the  above,  such  as  "Do  not  worry,"  "it  does  not 
pay,"  "life  is  too  short,"  "will  one  day  be  re- 
united," are  "exactly  what  my  father  constantly 
used  to  me  in  life.  .  .  .  Hundreds  of  times  he  has 
warned  me  that  I  am  not  so  strong  as  some  men." 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     243 

At  another  part  of  the  same  sitting  Mrs.  Piper's 
control  goes  on : 

"  James,  are  you  still  here  ?  If  so,  I  want  very  much 
to  know  if  you  remember  what  I  promised  you.  (Smith: 
Yes.  I  hope  you  will  tell  me  what  you  promised.)  I 
told  you  if  it  would  be  possible  for  me  to  return  to  you  I 
would  (Smith:  Yes,  I  remember.)  and  try  and  convince 
you  that  I  lived.  I  told  you  more  than  this  and  I  will 
remember  it  all.  I  told  you  I  would  come  back  if  pos- 
sible .  .  .  and  let  you  know  that  I  was  not  annihi- 
lated. I  remember  well  all  our  talks  about  this  life  and 
its  conditions,  and  there  was  a  great  question  of  doubt 
as  to  the  possibility  of  communication,  that  if  I  remem- 
ber right  was  the  one  question  that  we  talked  over ' ' 
(page  325). 

Near  the  close  of  this  sitting  Smith  asks  of  the  con- 
trol :  "Do  you  know  what  the  trouble  was  when  you 
passed  out?"  "No,"  answers  the  control,  "I  did 
not  realise  that  we  had  any  trouble,  James,  ever.  I 
thought  we  were  always  most  congenial  to  each 
other."  Smith  then  explains  that  he  meant  sick- 
ness, and  the  control  immediately  replies:  "Yes, 
my  stomach,"  and  gives  a  detailed  account  of  a  last 
sickness,  concluding  as  follows  (page  332):  "Do  you 
know  the  last  thing  I  recall  is  your  speaking  to  me, 
(Smith:  Yes,  right.)  And  you  were  the  last  to  do 
so.  (Smith :  Very  well.  Was  any  one  else  at  the 
bedside?)  I  remember  seeing  your  face,  but  I  was 
too  weak  to  answer, ' '  Professor  Hyslop  asserts  that 
he  was  present  at  the  death  of  his  father  and  that 
this  representation  of  it  is  correct.  "When  his  eye. 
lids  fell,"  he  adds,  "I  exclaimed,  'He  's  gone,'  and 


244     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

was  the  last  to  speak.  Father  had  been  unable  to 
speak  for  more  than  an  hour"  (page  36).  In  the 
sitting  of  December  27th  the  control  asks:  "What 
do  you  remember,  James,  of  our  talks  about  Sweden- 
borg?  (Smith:  I  remember  only  that  we  talked 
about  him.)  Do  your  remember  of  our  talking  one 
evening  in  the  library  about  his  description  of  the 
Bible?"  (page  241). 

Notwithstanding  the  confusion  and  irrelevancy  of 
a  large  part  of  these  communications  and  many 
others  given  in  the  record  as  coming  from  Profes- 
sor Hyslop's  father,  Mrs.  Piper's  control  correctly 
stated  the  name  of  Professor  Hyslop's  father,  Rob- 
ert Hyslop,  as  well  as  of  himself  and  his  several 
brothers  and  sisters,  making  a  truthful  distinction 
between  those  that  were  dead  and  those  that  were 
living.  He  also  correctly  stated  that  his  father  was 
a  "little  elderly  gentleman,  that  he  could  only  whis- 
per, that  he  had  no  teeth,  and  that  he  could  not 
sing."  He  told  the  truth  about  his  father's  worry 
over  finances  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  his  in- 
ability, owing  to  the  complete  failure  of  the  wheat 
crop  that  year,  to  have  the  farm  fences  repaired  for 
lack  of  funds.  He  described  accurately  the  religious 
habits  of  thought  of  his  father  and  the  symptoms  of 
his  last  sickness  and  many  other  incidents  in  his 
history  that  were  clearly  recalled  by  Professor 
Hyslop. 

Correct  references  were  also  made,  says  Professor 
Hyslop,  "to  the  trouble  with  the  left  eye,  the  mark 
near  the  ear,  the  thin  coat  or  dressing-gown  he  wore 
mornings,  the  black  skull  cap,  the  tokens,  the  stool, 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     245 

the  writing-pad,  the  rests,  and  the  round  and  square 
bottles  on  his  desk,  the  paper-cutter,  his  diary,  the 
brown-handled  knife,  and  the  nail  paring,  and  the 
horse  Tom  in  connection  with  George,"  though,  he 
continues,  they  were  "all  but  the  tokens,  the  diary, 
and  the  last  incident  wholly  unknown  to  me"  (page 
88). 

At  the  sitting  on  May  31st  Mrs.  Piper's  control 
purported  for  a  few  moments  to  speak  as  Professor 
Hyslop's  brother  Charles.     He  says: 

"  James,  I  am  your  brother  Charles  and  I  am  well  and 
happy.  Give  my  love  to  the  new  sister  Hettie  and  tell 
her  I  will  know  her  some  time.  Father  is  .  .  .  often 
speaks  of  her.  ...  If  you  could  only  see  his  delight 
when  he  hears  you,  I  am  sure,  my  dear  brother,  you 
would  never  doubt  that  he  still  clings  to  you.  It  is  his 
one  desire  to  comfort  and  help  you  "  (page  loi). 

Charles  died  in  1864  and  the  new  sister  Hettie  was 
born  in  1874.  He  speaks  of  her  in  full  accord  with 
the  facts.  So  also  he  correctly  characterises  the 
chief  purpose  of  the  father. 

During  the  sitting  of  December  23d  Mrs.  Piper's 
control,  purporting  to  speak  for  Professor  Hyslop's 
sister  Anna,  says:  "Where  is  brother  James? 
(Smith :  I  am  brother  James.)  How  you  have 
changed  since  I  came  here!  Do  you  remember 
anything  about  my  hair?  .  .  .  Do  you  not  have 
anything  to  say  to  me?  I  came  here  just  after 
Charles"  (page  331).  "My  sister  Anna,"  says  Pro- 
fessor Hyslop  (page  105),  "died  twelve  days  after 
my  brother  Charles  in  1864  with  scarlet  fever. "  Mrs. 


246     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Piper's  control  tells  many  other  facts  concerning  the 
names,  relationships,  and  doings  of  the  Hyslop 
family  in  this  small  town  in  Ohio,  no  one  of  which 
have  we  any  reason  to  suppose  was  known  to  Mrs. 
Piper  in  her  normal  state.  We  are  not  attempting 
to  account  for  all  the  facts  recorded  as  occurring  in 
these  sittings  or  to  explain  fully  those  referred  to 
above,  but  only  to  show  that  they  must  have  been 
attained  by  supernormal  means.  If  true,  and  we 
have  no  good  reason  for  calling  them  in  question, 
they  seem  to  establish  the  fact  of  telepathy  beyond 
reasonable  doubt. 

Another  and  more  recent  case  should  be  added  to 
those  already  cited,  namely,  the  case  of  Mrs.Thomp- 
son.  She  is  the  wife  of  a  wealthy  importer  in  Lon- 
don and  was  born  in  Birmingham  in  1868.  It  was 
not  till  about  1896  that  she  began  to  realise  that  she 
possessed  unusual  powers,  and  two  years  later  she 
and  her  husband  made  the  acquaintance  of  Frederic 
W.  H.  Myers, who  took  a  deep  interest  in  them  both. 
So  far  from  being  of  a  morbid  disposition,  Mrs. 
Thompson  is  active  and  vigorous,  fond  of  social  life 
and  outdoor  sports.  The  only  reason  she  has  for  giv- 
ing sittings  to  any  one  is  to  help  on  the  progress  of 
knowledge.  Her  trances  seem  to  be  almost  as  easy 
and  natural  as  ordinary  sleep.  She  has  given  sit- 
tings to  Dr.  Myers,  Professor  Lodge,  to  Sir  William 
Crookes,  Professor  and  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  Dr.  Hodgson, 
and  other  members  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search Council,  but  most  of  her  best  sittings  have 
been  with  entire  strangers. 

Three  fairly  successful  sittings  were  had  with  Dr. 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     247 

Frederick  Van  Eeden,  of  Bussum,  Holland,  of  whom 
it  is  claimed  Mrs.  Thompson  knew  nothing  at  all. 
From  notes  taken  at  the  time  by  J.  G.  Piddington, 
Mrs.  Thompson's  control  in  the  first  sitting  gave 
Dr.  Van  Eeden's  name,  Frederick,  correctly  and 
alluded  to  his  profession.  In  the  second  sitting  she 
gave  the  Van  Eeden  in  full,  the  name  of  his  country, 
and  the  Christian  name  of  his  wife,  Martha,  and  of 
one  of  his  children  ;  and  in  the  third  sitting  the  name 
of  his  home,  Bussum. 

A  gentleman  well  known  in  England  as  a  discreet 
and  cautious  observer,  who  for  family  reasons  passes 
in  this  record  as  Mr.  J.  O.  Wilson,  had  two  sittings 
with  Mrs.  Thompson  {Proceedings  of  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research,  vol.  xvii.,  p.  \2%  scq.^.  Mr.  Wil- 
son says  in  his  statement  about  the  case:  "I  have 
never  met  Mrs.  Thompson  before,  between,  or  after 
the  two  sittings."  The  lady  mentioned  in  the  sit- 
tings as  Miss  Clegg  was  at  the  time  of  her  death 
Mr,  Wilson's  fiancee.  Mrs.  Thompson's  control 
amid  a  great  mass  of  confused  and  apparently 
irrelevant  statements  correctly  gave  Miss  Clegg's 
Christian  name,  accurately  described  where  she  lived, 
and  correctly  named  several  of  her  friends,  besides 
giving  a  number  of  facts  concerning  the  affairs  of  her- 
self and  family  known  to  no  one  present  but  Mr. 
Wilson.  Miss  Clegg's  sister  a  year  after  the  sittings, 
on  carefully  reading  over  the  notes,  joins  with  Mr. 
Wilson  in  saying  that  "the  number  and  character  of 
the  facts  correctly  stated  are  very  remarkable." 

The  above  are  the  best  records  of  sittings  with 
Mrs.   Thompson    yet   published.     The  six  sittings 


248     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

with  Dr.  Hodgson  in  his  opinion  showed  no  super- 
normal power.  But  the  sittings  taken  together  seem 
in  some  respects  to  be  on  a  par  with  those  of  Mrs. 
Piper  and  establish  as  at  least  a  good  working  hypo- 
thesis the  existence  in  some  minds  of  telepathic 
powers.  We  are  not  arguing  one  way  or  the  other 
from  these  cases  as  to  whether  any  communications 
have  come  directly  from  "departed  spirits,"  but 
simply  that  some  information  was  probably  obtained 
through  means  now  unknown  to  us  from  the  minds 
of  the  sitters.  It  is  immaterial  from  our  present 
standpoint  whether  the  different  controls  of  Mrs. 
Piper  were  actually  different  existences  or  modifica- 
tions of  the  personality  of  Mrs.  Piper,  and  so  of 
Mrs.  Thompson.  The  only  point  now  under  con- 
sideration is,  did  they  get  their  information  wholly 
through  normal  means?  The  evidence  seems  very 
strong  that  they  did  not.  Hence  we  are  inclined  to 
admit  the  possibility  and  probability  of  some  excep- 
tional or  supernormal  means. 

But  this  does  not  militate  against  the  view  that 
mind,  so  far  as  we  know  it,  always  manifests  itself 
through  some  material  organism  or  instrument. 
Certain  things  have  heretofore  been  regarded  as 
necessary  for  the  proper  transmission  of  electricity, 
but  now  we  have  wireless  telegraphy.  That  does 
not  mean,  however,  that  electricity  requires  no 
medium  at  all.  The  mechanism  and  function  of  the 
brain  and  nervous  system  are  still  imperfectly  ex- 
plored. No  one  is  yet  justified  in  asserting  that 
undulations  of  ether  cannot  be  conveyed  from  brain 
to  brain  over  any  of  the  distances  of  our  earth.     The 


Mind-Reading  and  Telepathy     249 

admission  of  telepathy  simply  requires  us  to  acknow- 
ledge that  we  have  not  yet  discovered  all  the  ways 
for  mind  to  communicate  with  mind.  While  it  is 
the  one  ultra-normal  faculty  to  the  reality  of  which 
many  students  of  psychical  research  now  assent  no 
one  claims  to  have  discovered  its  laws  or  to  be  able 
to  define  its  meaning  and  scope.  It  may  always  re- 
main an  isolated  fact..  It  may  also  turn  out  to  be 
but  one  of  a  series  of  at  present  unrecognised  human 
powers. 


CHAPTER    X 

THE  HYPOTHESIS   OF  A  SECONDARY   SELF 

THE  first  eminent  representative  of  the  doctrine 
of  a  secondary  or  subliminal  self  was  the  late 
Frederic  W.  H.  Myers,  for  many  years  the  efficient 
Secretary  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  much- 
lamented  President  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research. 

After  years  spent  in  the  study  of  unusual  mental 
experiences  he  came  to  the  decided  opinion  that 
"the  stream  of  consciousness  in  which  we  habitually 
live  is  not  the  only  consciousness  in  connection  with 
our  organism."  "I  accord,"  he  says,  "no  primacy 
to  my  ordinary  waking  self  except  that  among  many 
potential  selves  this  one  has  shown  itself  the  fittest 
to  meet  the  needs  of  common  life." 

This  subliminal  self,  in  his  opinion,  can  never  ex- 
press itself  completely  through  any  corporeal  mani- 
festation. It  exists  and  has  a  conscious  life  of  its 
own  below  the  threshold  of  the  habitual  conscious- 
ness. It  shows  its  activity  by  reviving  processes 
that  fall  below  the  red  lines  of  the  ordinary  conscious 
spectrum,  because  they  long  ago  dropped  out  of  the 
range  of  present  human  knowledge ;  and  at  the  same 
time  it  gives  us  glimpses  of  other  processes  above 

250 


A  Secondary  Self  251 

the  violet  lines  which  we  are  obliged  to  attribute  to 
supernormal  powers.  In  addition  it  is  to  be  traced 
along  the  range  of  the  ordinary  spectrum  itself,  re- 
enforcing  our  conscious  wakeful  life  with  flashes  of 
inspiration  which  cannot  be  attributed  to  any  other 
source. 

This  position  has  come  to  have  many  advocates, 
and  it  derives  its  support  from  a  large  number  of 
carefully  recorded  facts,  which  can  no  longer  be 
safely  ignored  by  any  student  of  psychology  who 
wishes  to  retain  the  confidence  of  his  fellows  for 
breadth  of  view  and  honesty  of  purpose. 

For  convenience  we  shall  first  examine  the  extra- 
ordinary facts  bearing  upon  our  subject  that  occur 
in  connection  with  the  use  of  our  usual  normal 
powers.  These  facts,  it  is  alleged,  cannot  be  ac- 
counted for  except  on  the  assumption  that  the  fac- 
ulties of  our  wakeful  state  have  been  intensified  in 
their  action  by  uprushes  of  energy  from  depths  far 
below  the  sphere  of  our  conscious  selves. 

In  many  respects  the  most  striking  cases  of  this 
sort  are  the  so-called  arithmetical  prodigies  that 
every  few  years  in  the  course  of  history  have  aston- 
ished and  entertained  the  world  with  their  extraor- 
dinary feats.  Some  of  these  ' '  lightning  calculators" 
have  solved  almost  instantaneously  in  their  heads 
problems  that  other  individuals  would  require  many 
minutes  to  work  out  with  pencil  and  paper,  provided 
they  possessed  ability  enough  to  solve  them  at  all. 
Dr.  Scripture,  of  Yale  University,  in  his  paper  on 
"Arithmetical  Prodigies,"  published  in  the  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Psychology  for  April,    1891,  gives  a 


252     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

table  of  the  principal  prodigies  of  this  sort  and  some 
account  of  their  history  and  mental  characteristics. 
From  this  record  we  find  that  nearly  all  of  these 
calculating  wonders  developed  this  extraordinary 
power  in  early  childhood  and  lost  it  as  they  grew 
older.  Many  of  them  were  actually  stupid  as  to 
their  general  intelligence  and  remained  so  all  their 
lives.  Few  of  them  knew  anything  about  geometry 
or  had  any  really  mathematical  ability  at  all.  One 
of  the  two  or  three  actually  eminent  persons  in  this 
list  was  Archbishop  Whately,  who  says  of  his  own 
power  in  this  direction : 

"  It  began  to  show  itself  at  between  five  and  six  and 
lasted  about  three  years.  ...  I  soon  got  to  do  the 
most  difficult  sums,  always  in  my  head,  for  I  knew  no- 
thing of  figures  beyond  numeration.  I  did  these  sums 
much  quicker  than  any  one  else  could  upon  paper,  and  I 
never  remember  committing  the  smallest  error.  When  I 
went  to  school,  at  which  time  the  passion  wore  off,  I  was 
a  perfect  dunce  at  ciphering,  and  have  continued  so  ever 
since." 

Professor  Safford  at  ten  years  of  age  could  work 
correctly  in  his  head  in  one  minute  a  sum  in  multi- 
plication whose  answer  consisted  of  thirty-six  figures, 
but  later  he  displayed  no  unusual  ability  in  such 
matters.  Vito  Mangiamele,  a  shepherd  boy  of 
Sicily,  was  taken  to  Paris  in  1837  when  he  was  ten 
years  old  and  examined  before  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  by  Arago,  the  famous  astronomer.  He 
put  to  the  boy  the  following  questions:  "What  is 
the  cube  root    of    3,796,416?"     In  half  a  minute 


A  Secondary  Self  253 

Vito  gave  the  correct  answer,  156.  The  next  ques- 
tion was :  "What  satisfies  the  condition  that  its  cube 
plus  five  times  its  square  is  equal  to  42  times  itself 
increased  by  40?  "  In  less  than  a  minute  the  boy 
gave  the  answer  5,  which  is  correct.  The  third 
problem  was  the  equation  x^ — 4X— 16779=0.  At 
first  Vito  answered  3,  but  afterwards  changed  it  to  7, 
which  is  the  true  solution.  Finally  he  was  asked  to 
give  the  loth  root  of  282,475,246,  and  in  a  short 
time  he  responded  correctly,  "7."  How  he  solved 
these  problems  still  remains  a  mystery  and  we  have 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  boy  himself  could 
explain  it. 

Of  Dase,  the  celebrated  German  calculator,  we  are 
expressly  told  that  "Peterson  tried  in  vain  for  six 
weeks  to  get  the  first  elements  of  mathematics  into 
his  head,"  and  that  "he  could  not  be  made  to  have 
the  least  idea  of  a  proposition  in  Euclid.  Of  any 
language  but  his  own  he  could  never  master  a 
word."  In  the  case  of  Colburn  "his  friends  tried  to 
elicit  a  disclosure  of  the  methods  by  which  he  per- 
formed his  calculations,  but  for  nearly  three  years  he 
was  unable  to  satisfy  their  inquiries.  He  positively 
declared  that  he  did  not  know  how  the  answers  came 
to  him,"  When  he  did  endeavour  to  make  an  ex- 
planation the  attempt  did  not  succeed.  The  famous 
boy  calculator,  known  as  "Mr.  Van  R.  of  Utica," 
entirely  lost  this  power  at  eight  years  of  age  and 
could  reckon  no  better  than  the  average  individual. 
In  after  life,  we  are  told,  "he  did  not  retain  the 
slightest  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  he  performed 
his  calculations  in  childhood."     Inaudi,  the  present 


254     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

world  wonder  in  this  direction,  Avill  multiply  a  row 
of  nine  figures  by  another  row  of  nine  and  keep  on 
talking  freely  about  other  matters  until  he  announces 
the  result.  Buxton  used  to  do  the  same  thing, 
the  talking  "being  no  molestation  or  hindrance  to 
him." 

In  all  these  cases  the  principal  thing  for  these  cal- 
culating wonders  to  do  was  to  get  a  clear  and  vivid 
conception  of  the  problem  at  the  start  and  then 
leave  the  result  to  come  of  itself.  They  were  sel- 
dom conscious  of  any  continuous  logical  process. 
According  to  the  advocates  of  the  doctrine  we  have 
under  consideration,  most  of  the  process  is  the  work 
of  the  subliminal  self.  The  conscious  self  simply 
begins  the  operation  and  the  subliminal  self  carries 
on  the  successive  steps,  attains  the  conclusion,  and 
brings  the  result  up  into  the  consciousness  of  the 
ordinary  wakeful  self.  It  is  all  due,  so  it  is  alleged, 
to  the  sudden  uprush  of  a  mind  "which  kindles  the 
bright  lines  at  least  of  our  habitual  spectrum  into  a 
more  than  common  glow." 

But  another  explanation  of  these  phenomena  is 
possible  and  should  be  adopted  if  it  will  fairly  well 
account  for  the  facts.  For  it  is  here  taken  for 
granted  that  a  physical  theory  is  to  be  accepted  in 
all  cases  where  it  can  be  applied,  and  that  a  new 
psychological  theory  is  to  be  admitted  only  after 
every  existing  hypothesis  has  failed  to  meet  legiti- 
mate demands.  It  is  entirely  reasonable  to  hold 
that  these  so-called  lightning  calculations  are  chiefly 
automatic  and  only  require  a  low  degree  of  mental 
power.      Complex    arithmetical    problems  are  now 


A  Secondary  Self  255 

solved  every  day  by  calculating  machines.  The 
operator  "sets"  the  conditions  of  the  problem  and 
the  turning  of  a  crank  does  the  rest.  We  must  not 
forget  that  the  brain  of  man  is  a  vastly  more  com- 
plex and  delicately  balanced  organ  than  any  machine 
can  be.  Its  association  tracts  respond  to  the  slight- 
est influence.  Let  any  set  of  cells  be  started  into 
action  and  all  related  sets  at  once  respond.  It  is 
notorious  that  all  purely  arithmetical  calculations  re- 
quire but  little  outlay  of  mental  energy.  It  seems 
altogether  likely,  therefore,  that  in  these  cases  that 
we  now  have  under  consideration  the  ordinary  nor- 
mal mind  using  the  appropriate  brain  cells  sets  the 
problem  ;  that  the  brain  itself  makes  the  proper  com- 
binations according  to  its  own  laws  with  very  little 
mental  guidance ;  and  that  the  ordinary  normal  self 
reads  the  result.  In  short,  that  in  so  far  as  they  are 
unconscious  to  the  so-called  normal  self  they  are 
physical  and  automatic,  to  be  explained  in  accord- 
ance with  the  general  laws  of  physical  force.  Some 
brains  take  on  this  particular  mode  of  functioning 
far  more  easily  than  others,  but  the  difference  is 
probably  one  of  degree  and  not  of  kind.  People 
differ  almost  as  much  in  the  facility  with  which  they 
take  to  dancing  or  manipulate  a  piano  or  violin. 

In  the  same  way  we  would  explain  the  improvised 
productions  of  musical  composers  and  the  inspira- 
tions of  the  orator  and  poet.  They  are  made  up  of 
the  materials  that  at  some  time  or  other  have  been 
treasured  up  by  memory  in  the  cerebral  storehouse, 
ready  on  the  appropriate  occasion  to  burst  forth. 
It  is  altogether  likely  that  they  are  due   in   large 


256     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

measure  to  brain  activities  which  at  first  often  re- 
quire but  slight  attention,  and  only  in  their  final 
stages  spring  up  into  clear  and  vivid  consciousness. 

Another  alleged  source  of  evidence  for  the  exist- 
ence of  a  secondary  self  is  dreams.  People  often  do 
with  ease  in  dreams  what  they  have  tried  hard  to  do 
while  awake  and  failed  to  do ;  hence  it  is  said  that 
they  must  have  been  assisted  by  a  subliminal  power. 
Professor  Lamberton,  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, reports  that  after  having  worked  for  some  days 
in  vain  over  a  geometrical  problem  he  awoke  one 
morning  and  saw  the  answer  on  the  wall  directly  in 
front  of  him  {Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,  vol.  xii.,  p.  11).  His  colleague,  Dr.  Hil- 
precht,  Professor  of  Assyrian,  dreamed  that  a  tall, 
thin  priest  of  Bel  came  to  him  and  told  him  how  two 
pieces  of  agate  that  he  had  received  from  the  temple 
of  Bel  at  Nippur  could  be  put  together  so  as  to  make 
the  inscription  on  them  intelligible.  In  the  morning 
he  followed  the  directions  given  and  deciphered  them 
at  once,  although  he  had  long  laboured  over  them  in 
vain.  Agassiz  discovered  in  sleep  how  to  put  some 
scattered  bones  together  so  as  to  make  a  complete 
skeleton,  his  previous  efforts  having  met  with  no 
success.  There  are  innumerable  instances  on  record 
of  the  discovery  of  the  whereabouts  of  missing 
articles  in  dreams. 

In  all  these  cases  we  have  no  right  to  claim  that 
the  processes  involved  were  due  to  a  secondary  self 
merely  because  we  cannot  recall  the  processes  when 
we  awake.  Some  of  them  in  all  likelihood  were 
purely  automatic.      Some  were  so  quickly  experi- 


A  Secondary  Self  257 

enced  that  the  consciousness  of  the  operation  almost 
immediately  faded  away.  Others  are  to  be  ex- 
plained as  mere  revivals  of  lapsed  memory  due  to 
the  sudden  stimulation  of  the  nerve  tracts  in  which 
the  memory  was  stored,  while  others,  still,  may  be 
accounted  for  as  clear  presentations  in  consciousness 
of  what  was  originally  apprehended  in  a  vague  and 
fragmentary  way.  We  must  always  remember  that 
every  state  of  consciousness  is  an  extremely  complex 
affair,  made  up  of  a  great  number  of  unlike  elements, 
any  one  of  which  may  push  to  the  front  and  mon- 
opolise the  field  of  vision ;  that  all  degrees  of  con- 
sciousness are  possible ;  and  that  the  processes  of 
thought  often  go  on  with  lightning-like  rapidity  and 
pass  into  temporary  oblivion  with  an  almost  incred- 
ible swiftness. 

Passing  now  to  a  somewhat  different  set  of  facts, 
we  come  to  the  great  historical  cases  that  are  sup- 
posed to  establish  beyond  peradventure  the  exist- 
ence of  a  secondary  self.  The  first  of  these  cases  to 
attract  special  attention  was  that  of  the  daughter  of 
a  French  sea  captain,  by  the  name  of  Felida,  who 
was  born  near  Bordeaux  in  1 843.  Her  case  was  care- 
fully studied  for  a  number  of  years  by  Dr.  Agam, 
of  Bordeaux,  who  published  a  full  account  of  it  in 
1887.  He  says  that  up  to  the  age  of  fourteen  Felida 
was  a  quiet  child,  subject  to  frequent  pains  and  ail- 
ments of  an  hysterical  origin.  One  day  when  sewing 
she  fell  asleep  for  a  few  moments  and  woke  up  a 
new  creature.  Her  pains  were  gone.  She  was  gay 
and  happy,  much  given  to  singing  and  talking. 
After  she  had  slept  again  she  returned  to  her  former 


258     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

self  and  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  what  she  had 
been  doing  in  the  interim.  In  a  day  or  two  the 
same  experience  was  repeated,  and  so  it  went  on 
until  in  the  prime  of  life  she  spent  months  together 
in  this  second  state,  only  occasionally  relapsing  into 
her  original  self.  She  married  and  had  a  family  of 
children,  but  during  her  entire  life  her  experiences 
in  the  first  state  remained  entirely  distinct  from 
those  in  the  second. 

As  she  grew  older  the  second  state  predominated 
and  became  her  usual  self,  superior  in  every  way  to 
her  original  self  who  always  remained  sickly  and  de- 
pressed. When  she  reverted  to  her  old  self  she 
could  not  tell  the  whereabouts  of  her  husband 
and  her  children.  Says  Dr.  Agam :  "She  would 
not  recognise  the  dog  which  played  at  her  feet,  nor 
the  acquaintance  of  yesterday.  She  knew  nothing 
of  her  household  requirements,  her  business  under- 
takings, her  social  engagements."  In  her  second 
state  she  knew  of  the  existence  of  such  a  personage 
as  her  original  self,  and  when  she  thought  she  could 
not  prevent  her  from  appearing  upon  the  scene  of 
action  she  would  write  her  a  letter  telling  her  how  to 
conduct  the  affairs  of  the  household,  where  to  find 
certain  needful  articles,  and  how  to  treat  certain 
visitors  when  they  came  to  call. 

A  very  similar  case  is  that  of  the  Rev.  Ansel 
Bourne,  of  Greene,  Rhode  Island,  vouched  for  by 
Professor  James  of  Harvard  University  and  Dr. 
Hodgson,  both  of  whom  have  thoroughly  investi- 
gated it.  Mr.  Bourne  began  life  as  a  carpenter, 
but  owing  to  some  unusual  religious  experiences  he 


A  Secondary  Self  259 

spent  most  of  his  time  as  an  itinerant  preacher.  He 
was  always  more  or  less  subject  to  headaches  and 
temporary  fits  of  depression  and  had  been  uncon- 
scious several  times  an  hour  or  more  because  of 
them. 

**  On  January  17,  1887,"  says  Professor  James  in  his 
Principles  of  Psychology  (vol.  i.,  p.  391  seq?),  "he 
drew  $551  from  the  bank  in  Providence,  with  which 
to  pay  for  a  certain  lot  of  land  in  Greene,  paid  certain 
bills,  and  got  a  Pawtucket  horse-car.  This  is  the  last 
incident  he  remembers.  He  did  not  return  home  that 
day  and  nothing  was  heard  of  him  for  two  months.  He 
was  published  in  the  papers  as  missing,  and  foul  play 
being  suspected,  the  police  sought  in  vain  his  where- 
abouts. On  the  morning  of  March  14th,  however,  at 
Norristown,  Pa.,  a  man  calling  himself  A.  J.  Brown, 
who  had  rented  a  small  shop  six  weeks  previously, 
stocked  it  with  stationery,  confectionery,  fruit,  and  small 
articles,  and  carried  on  his  quiet  trade  without  seeming 
to  any  one  unnatural  or  eccentric,  woke  up  in  a  fright 
and  called  the  people  of  the  house  to  tell  him  where  he 
was.  He  said  his  name  was  Ansel  Bourne,  that  he  was 
entirely  ignorant  of  Norristown,  that  he  knew  nothing  of 
shopkeeping,  and  that  the  last  thing  he  remembered — it 
seemed  only  yesterday — was  drawing  the  money  from  the 
bank,  etc.,  in  Providence.  He  would  not  believe  that  two 
months  had  elapsed.  The  people  of  the  house  thought 
him  insane;  and  so,  at  first,  did  Dr.  Louis  H.  Read, 
whom  they  called  to  see  him.  But  on  telegraphing  to 
Providence  confirmatory  messages  came,  and  presently 
his  nephew,  Mr.  Andrew  Harris,  arrived  upon  the  scene, 
made  everything  straight,  and  took  him  home.  He  was 
very  weak,  having  lost  apparently  over  twenty  pounds  of 


26o     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

flesh  during  his  escapade,  and  had  such  a  horror  of  the 
idea  of  the  candy-store  that  he  refused  to  set  foot  in  it 
again." 

When  he  reached  home  and  was  in  his  normal 
condition  Mr.  Bourne  knew  nothing  of  his  Brown 
experiences.  But  about  three  years  later,  after 
much  effort,  Professor  James  induced  Mr.  Bourne 
to  submit  to  hypnotism.  The  result  was  that  his 
career  as  Mr.  Brown  all  came  back  to  him  and  he 
knew  nothing  of  his  usual  life  as  Mr.  Bourne.  When 
asked  about  Ansel  Bourne  he  said  that  he  "did  n't 
know  as  he  had  ever  met  the  man."  And  when  in- 
troduced to  Mrs.  Bourne  he  said  he  had  "never  seen 
the  woman  before."  "I  had  hoped,"  continued 
Professor  James,  "by  suggestion,  etc.,  to  run  the 
two  memories  into  one  and  make  the  memories  con- 
tinuous, but  no  artifice  could  avail  to  accomplish 
this,  and  Mr.  Bourne's  skull  to-day  still  covers  two 
distinct  personal  selves." 

It  is  altogether  likely  that  in  both  of  these  cases 
the  changes  in  ideas  and  associations  were  chiefly 
due  to  changes  in  the  supply  of  blood  to  the  brain. 
The  sudden  and  irregular  ebb  and  flow  of  the  cir- 
culation would  naturally  cause  some  cells  to  wane  in 
their  action,  while  others  would  be  stimulated  to  a 
great  excess  of  power.  This  would  undoubtedly  ac- 
count in  the  main  for  the  severe  headaches  of  which 
they  both  so  frequently  complained.  The  very  fact 
that  the  brain  was  in  an  unusual  condition  would 
give  rise  to  a  new  and  strange  set  of  sensations 
which  might  easily  absorb  the  entire  attention  and 


A  Secondary  Self  261 

furnish  data  for  the  creation  of  a  radically  different 
conception  of  the  self  from  the  one  that  had  before 
dominated  the  life. 

For  every  person  is  perpetually  changing  his  con- 
ception of  himself  with  every  new  experience;  and 
whatever  conception  is  uppermost  at  any  given  mo- 
ment will  give  tone  and  character  to  his  thoughts 
and  acts.  He  will  tend  to  select  out  of  his  past 
memories  the  materials  that  fit  in  with  this  concep- 
tion and  ignore  all  others.  In  this  way  it  is  possible 
for  one  to  have  as  many  conceptions  of  himself  as 
he  has  possible  relations.  Both  in  a  normal  and  an 
abnormal  state  each  conception  may  have  its  respect- 
ive memories  and  modes  of  thought.  And  if  his 
states  change  suddenly  and  radically  his  conception 
of  himself  will  undergo  a  similar  alteration. 

Everybody's  Me  is  therefore  a  complex  affair.  It 
is  the  sum  total  of  all  his  possible  Mes  to  which  we 
can  set  no  definite  limit.  Professor  James  goes  so 
far  as  to  assert  that 

"in  the  widest  possible  sense  a  man's  Me  is  the  sum 
total  of  all  that  he  can  call  his,  not  only  his  body  and  his 
psychic  powers,  but  his  clothes  and  his  house,  his  wife 
and  children,  his  ancestors  and  friends,  his  reputation 
and  works,  his  lands  and  horses,  and  his  yacht  and  bank 
account.  All  these  things  give  him  the  same  emotions. 
If  they  wax  and  prosper,  he  feels  triumphant;  if  they 
dwindle  and  die  away,  he  feels  cast  down,  not  necessarily 
in  the  same  degree  for  each,  but  in  much  the  same  way 
for  all." 

From  this  point  of  view  even  a  savage  has  a  number 


262     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

of  selves.  And  every  civilised  man  cuts  himself  up 
into  as  many  social  selves,  to  take  only  one  line  of 
cleavage,  as  there  are  groups  of  persons  to  whom  he 
stands  in  distinct  relations.  And  whenever  he  comes 
into  any  one  of  these  relations  the  thoughts  and 
conduct  peculiar  to  that  relation  may  come  to  the 
front  and  drive  out  all  others.  "Many  a  youth," 
says  another,  "who  is  demure  enough  before  his 
parents  and  teachers  swears  and  swaggers  like  a 
pirate  among  his  'tough'  young  friends,"  and  it 
may  be  added  that  "his  parents  and  teachers" 
equally  alter  their  modes  of  thought  and  action  with 
a  changed  environment.  All  of  which  goes  to  show 
that  when  an  individual  for  any  reason  passes  into  a 
new  state  or  condition  having  the  thoughts  and  re- 
taining the  memories  only  of  that  condition,  it  need 
not  be  anything  more  than  a  greatly  exaggerated 
example  of  what  is  all  the  time  taking  place  in  some 
degree  in  ordinary  wakeful  life,  and  does  not  neces- 
sitate the  adoption  of  an  entirely  different  self,  of 
which  we  have  no  more  direct  knowledge  than  of  an 
atom  of  oxygen  or  a  distant  star. 

Most  people  are  so  situated  that  they  boldly  stand 
by  some  one  of  their  empirical  selves  and  at  least 
keep  the  others  in  the  background.  But  a  few  per- 
sons like  the  cases  we  have  examined  and  still  have 
to  examine,  owing  to  a  diseased  condition  of  the 
organism,  or  the  suggestion  of  some  other  mind,  or 
their  own  lack  of  will,  vibrate  from  one  to  the  other 
and  do  not  have  any  abiding  self  to  the  supremacy 
of  which  they  persistently  devote  all  their  powers. 

The  next  test  case  is  that  of  Madame  B.,  the  wife 


A  Secondary  Self  263 

of  a  charcoal  burner  near  Cherbourg,  of  whom 
Frederic  W.  H.  Myers  wrote  not  long  ago:  "There 
is  perhaps  no  one  in  France  whose  personal  history 
is  watched  with  so  keen  an  interest  by  such  a  group 
of  scientific  men."  In  her  ordinary  state  Madame 
B.  is  a  timid  elderly  peasant  woman,  of  moderate 
intelligence  and  little  education.  Professor  Janet 
of  Havre,  who  has  thoroughly  studied  all  phases  of 
her  case,  calls  her  in  this  state  Leonie.  When  she 
is  hypnotised  she  at  once  becomes  bright  and  viva- 
cious, full  of  mischief,  and  very  anxious  not  to  be 
taken  for  Leonie,  whom  she  calls  "the  other  one," 
and  laughs  at  for  her  stupidity.  In  this  state  she 
takes  the  name  of  Leontine.  If  she  is  hypnotised 
still  further  and  put  into  a  deeper  trance,  she  is 
known  as  Leonore,  who  is  acquainted  with  Leonie 
and  Leontine  and  disinclined  to  regard  either  of 
them  with  much  favour. 

One  day  Professor  Janet  after  hypnotising  Leonie 
into  Leontine  told  her  on  awaking  to  take  off  her 
apron,  the  joint  apron  of  Leonie  and  Leontine,  and 
tie  it  on  again.  She  did  as  she  was  told  and  the 
Professor  called  Leonie's  attention  to  the  loosened 
apron,  when  she  exclaimed,  "Why,  my  apron  is 
coming  ofT,"  and  tied  it  on  again.  While  Leonie 
was  talking  about  other  matters  connected  with  the 
Professor's  departure,  Leontine  took  the  apron  off 
again  and  again  retied  it.  The  next  day  when 
Leonie  was  hypnotised  into  Leontine,  Leontine  im- 
mediately said :  "Well,  I  did  what  you  told  me  yes- 
terday. How  stupid  the  other  one  looked  while  I 
took  off  her  apron !     Why  did  you  tell  her  that  her 


264     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

apron  was  falling  off?     I  was  obliged  to  begin  the 
job  over  again." 

Once  when  Madame  B.  was  away  from  Havre  on 
a  visit,  Professor  Janet  received  a  letter  from  her 
about  her  state  of  health,  written  in  a  serious,  respect- 
ful tone  and  signed  by  her  true  name ;  but  over  the 
page  was  another  letter  in  a  decidedly  different  vein, 
which  read  as  follows:  "My  dear  good  sir,  I  must 
tell  you  that  B.  really  makes  me  suffer  very  much ; 
she  cannot  sleep,  she  spits  blood,  she  hurts  me ;  I 
am  going  to  demolish  her,  she  bores  me,  I  am 
ill  also.  This  is  from  your  devoted  Leontine." 
When  Madame  B.  returned  to  Havre  Professor 
Janet  questioned  her  about  the  letters.  She  remem- 
bered the  first  one  very  distinctly,  but  of  the  second 
she  had  no  recollection  whatsoever.  This  experience 
was  subsequently  often  repeated,  and  many  others 
of  a  like  character  are  recorded  by  Professor  Janet 
with  this  subject. 

A  case  that  very  strikingly  resembles  this  one  of 
Madame  B.  is  reported  by  Dr.  Morton  Prince,  phy- 
sician for  nervous  diseases  in  the  city  hospital  of 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  described  by  him  at  the 
International  Congress  of  Psychology,  Paris,  Au- 
gust, 1900,  under  the  title  The  Problem  of  Multiplex 
Personalities.  It  appears  that  a  certain  Miss  Beau- 
champ,  a  student  in  one  of  the  New  England  col- 
leges, finding  that  her  health  would  not  allow  her  to 
graduate,  left  her  work  and  went  to  a  hospital  to  fit 
herself  to  be  a  nurse.  While  in  this  hospital  one 
summer  evening  in  1893  she  experienced  such  a 
violent  fright  that  she  has  ever  since  been  an  en- 


A  Secondary  Self  265 

tirely  different  person.  No  effort  to  restore  her  to 
her  original  self  has  met  with  success.  But  not 
only  this,  Miss  Beauchamp  No.  I.,  as  the  person 
immediately  after  the  fright  is  called,  has  developed 
into  three  other  personalities  besides  three  hypnotic 
states,  and  for  several  years  these  different  personal- 
ities have  been  coming  and  going  without  any  ap- 
parent law  or  order,  each  one  claiming  to  be  the 
real  Miss  Beauchamp  and  to  have  the  sole  right  to 
existence  to  the  exclusion  of  the  others. 

"  B.  I.,"  says  Dr.  Prince,  "  is  a  very  serious-minded 
person,  fond  of  books  and  study,  of  a  religious  turn  of 
mind,  and  possesses  a  very  morbid  conscientiousness. 
Sally  (Miss  Beauchamp  No.  III.)  on  the  other 
hand  is  full  of  fun,  does  not  worry  about  anything;  all 
life  is  one  great  joke  to  her;  she  hates  books,  loves  fun 
and  amusement,  does  not  like  serious  things,  hates 
church.  .  .  .  She  cannot  read  French  or  any  of  the 
foreign  languages  which  Miss  Beauchamp  knows,  and  she 
cannot  write  shorthand, — in  short,  lacks  a  great  many  of 
the  educational  accomplishments  which  the  other  char- 
acter possesses.  .  .  .  Curiously  enough  Sally  took 
an  intense  dislike  to  B.  I.  She  actually  hates  her.  She 
used  to  say  to  me,  '  Why,  I  hate  her.  Dr.  Prince!  '  and 
there  was  no  length  to  which  Sally  would  not  go  to  cause 
her  annoyance.  She  would  play  every  kind  of  prank 
upon  her  to  make  her  miserable.  She  tormented  her  to 
a  degree  almost  incredible." 

Dr.  Prince  has  succeeded  in  getting  Sally  Beau- 
champ, who  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  of  all 
the  Beauchamps,  to  write  her  autobiography,  and  it 


266     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

begins  from  the  time  she  was  in  her  cradle,  which 
she  distinctly  remembers.  She  describes  how  she 
learned  to  walk  and  how  frightened  B.  I.  was  when 
she  started  off.  All  the  way  through  her  childhood 
and  school  life  she  disliked  the  things  B.  I.  liked,  and 
she  makes  a  very  clear  distinction  between  their 
thoughts  and  feelings  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects 
even  up  to  the  present  time  Dr.  Prince  asserts 
that  she  also  depicts  actual  scenes  and  incidents  in 
her  early  life  "of  which  Miss  Beauchamp  is  entirely 
ignorant";  and  concludes  that  "thus  I  have  been 
able  to  get  an  actual  autobiography  of  a  subliminal 
consciousness,  in  which  are  described  the  contempo- 
raneous and  contrasted  mental  lives  of  two  con- 
sciousnesses, the  subliminal  and  the  dominant,  from 
early  infancy  to  adult  life." 

These  are  of  course  most  extraordinary  cases,  but 
we  do  not  see  in  them  sufficient  reason  for  supposing 
that  they  require  any  other  explanation  than  the  doc- 
trine already  stated,  namely,  that  the  one  human  in- 
dividual by  various  modifications  of  its  own  powers 
may  create  a  variety  of  selves.  It  may  even  revive 
an  almost  extinct  faculty,  as  Podmore  and  Patrick 
have  pointed  out.  It  may  bring  into  service  ma- 
terial stored  up  in  brain  tracts  long  in  disuse  and 
thus  increase  the  number  of  possible  combinations 
beyond  any  conceivable  limit.  Such  being  the  facts, 
the  cases  described  above  are,  in  our  judgment,  best 
interpreted  as  extreme  illustrations  of  how  much  the 
mind  of  man  is  like  a  kaleidoscope,  which  may  be 
shaken  now  into  this  pattern  and  now  into  that,  and 
not  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  existence  of  two 


A  Secondary  Self  267 

fundamentally  separate  beings  with  distinct  experi- 
ences and  powers. 

But  before  we  have  the  material  at  present  avail- 
able for  a  well-grounded  opinion  upon  this  matter 
there  are  other  cases  that  need  to  be  considered,  and 
especially  what  has  been  called  "the  epoch-making 
case  of  Mile.  H^lene  Smith."  This  has  been  de- 
scribed with  great  lucidity  and  candour  by  Professor 
Flournoy,  of  Geneva,  Switzerland,  in  his  famous 
book  entitled  From  India  to  the  Planet  Mars.  Mile. 
H^lfene  Smith  is  the  name  given  by  Professor  Flour- 
noy to  a  woman  at  the  head  of  an  important  depart- 
ment of  a  large  commercial  house  in  Geneva,  who 
has  shown  in  recent  years  extraordinary  mediumistic 
powers.  The  Professor  first  became  interested  in 
the  case  in  1895,  and  his  book  is  a  record  of  five 
years  of  observation  and  study  that  he  has  devoted 
to  it.  During  these  five  years  Mile.  Smith  in  her 
trance  life  has  passed  through  three  extraordinary 
cycles,  known  as  the  Hindoo  cycle,  the  Martian 
cycle,  and  the  Royal  cycle.  That  is,  she  has  suc- 
cessively been  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  Arab  sheik, 
living  at  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century,  whom 
she  left  when  eighteen  years  of  age  to  become  the  wife 
of  a  Hindoo  potentate;  an  inhabitant  of  the  planet 
Mars,  familiar  with  the  life  of  its  people,  using  their 
language,  and  absorbed  in  their  thoughts ;  and  most 
recently  a  reincarnation  of  the  famous  French  Queen, 
Marie  Antoinette.  In  all  these  experiences  her  spirit 
guide  is  "Leopold,"  who  claims  to  be  the  reincarna- 
tion of  Count  Cagliostro,  the  notorious  Italian  phy- 
sician and  alchemist  of  the  time  of  Louis  XVI. 


268     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

As  the  Hindoo  Princess  Simandini,  H^lfene  is  pas- 
sionately devoted  to  her  husband  Sivrouka  Nayaka, 
who  reigns  over  Kanara  and  builds  a  fortress  there 
called  Tchandraguiri  in  1401.  At  his  death  she  is 
burned  alive  on  his  grave  after  the  fashion  of  that 
country.  The  various  scenes  in  this  Oriental  drama 
form  a  continuous  series,  but  they  were  enacted  in 
the  reverse  of  the  chronological  order  in  harmony 
with  the  mediumistic  theory  that  the  memories  of 
previous  existence  go  back  first  to  the  more  recent 
events  and  last  of  all  to  the  more  remote.  The 
scene  of  the  death  on  the  funeral  pile  was  enacted 
on  the  loth  of  March,  1895  ;  that  of  the  visit  to  the 
palace  and  fortress  in  Kanara  on  the  7th  and  14th 
of  April ;  that  of  the  betrothal  on  June  30th ;  and  so 
back  to  the  time  when  as  a  young  girl  she  is  joyously 
playing  with  her  pet  monkey  or  copying  Arab  texts 
for  her  father,  the  sheik. 

Professor  Flournoy  says  that  these  varied  Hindoo 
somnambulisms  are  enacted  with  such  perfection  of 
originality  and  grace  that  only  the  most  accomplished 
actresses  could  equal  it  after  months  of  hard  study 
or  a  long  sojourn  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges. 
H^lcne,  however,  has  had  no  artistic  education  and 
has  lived  from  her  infancy  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Leman. 

But  the  most  wonderful  thing  about  this  Hindoo 
cycle  of  experiences  is  the  use  of  Sanscrit  and  the 
references  to  historic  facts.  When  Helene  an- 
nounced herself  as  the  wife  of  Sivrouka  Nayaka, 
and  the  date  at  which  he  built  the  fortress  Tchan- 
draguiri as  1401,   Professor  Flournoy   immediately 


A  Secondary  Self  269 

consulted  all  the  eminent  professors  of  history  and 
Orientalists  known  to  him  for  confirmation  of  these 
references,  and  not  one  of  them  was  able  to  furnish 
him  the  slightest  hint  on  the  subject.  One  wrote: 
"Your  names  are  unknown  to  me  and  do  not  recall 
to  my  mind  any  personage,  real  or  fictitious. "  " The 
name  of  Sivrouak  seems  to  me  improbable  as  a  Hin- 
doo name,"  wrote  another.  "I  greatly  regret  not 
to  have  succeeded  in  getting  upon  the  trail  of  the 
recollections  of  your  medium,"  wrote  a  third.  But 
Professor  Flournoy  did  not  utterly  abandon  the 
search,  and  one  day  in  a  six-volume  work  by  one  De 
Maries,  whom  nobody  reads  in  our  time,  he  acci- 
dentally found  this  passage :  "  Kanara  and  the  neigh- 
bouring provinces  on  the  side  towards  Delhi  may 
be  regarded  as  the  Georgia  of  Hindustan.  .  .  . 
Tchandraguiri,  which  signifies  Mountain  of  the 
Moon,  is  a  vast  fortress  constructed  in  1401  by 
Rajah  Sivrouka"  {General  History  of  India,  pp.  268, 
269,  Paris,  1828).  De  Maries  gives  no  evidence  for 
this  statement  and  no  author  yet  discovered  refers 
to  these  facts. 

The  important  question  for  us  here  is,  Did  H^lene 
know  of  this  passage?  Of  this  we  have  no  proof. 
Professor  Flournoy  says  that  so  far  as  he  knows 
there  are  only  two  copies  of  this  work  in  Geneva, 
both  for  a  long  time  covered  with  dust,  one  in  a 
private  library  to  which  neither  H^lene  nor  her 
friends  would  have  any  access,  and  the  other  in  the 
Public  Library,  but  very  rarely  used.  Helfene  de- 
clares that  she  can  remember  nothing  about  such  a 
work,  has  never  heard  before  of  such  a  man  as  De 


2  70     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

Maries,  has  never  studied  the  history  of  India  or 
ever  read  anything  on  the  subject.  Of  course  the 
fact  that  she  cannot  now  remember  anything  about 
it  does  not  militate  against  the  supposition  that  she 
has  some  time  seen  the  passage  in  question,  and 
even  the  possibility  that  she  may  have  heard  it  read 
by  others  at  some  time  in  her  childhood  precludes 
in  our  view  referring  it  to  any  superhuman  source. 
For  the  same  reason  we  would  not  attribute  it  to  a 
subliminal  self,  but  to  the  working  of  latent  normal 
powers. 

Now  in  regard  to  H61^ne's  ability  so  far  as  this 
Hindoo  incarnation  is  concerned  to  speak  with 
tongues.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  often 
had  seances  and  spontaneous  visions  of  her  Arab 
days,  she  always  described  the  scenes  of  her  early 
life  in  French  and  showed  no  knowledge  whatever 
of  Arabian  except  to  copy  an  Arab  text.  This  can 
not  be  said  of  her  Hindoo  experience.  She  actually 
does  utter  certain  Sanscrit  words  in  expressing  her 
deepest  emotions,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  agreement 
of  all  Sanscrit  scholars  "that  Indian  women  neither 
at  the  time  alleged  (1401)  nor  at  any  other  spoke 
Sanscrit ;  that  the  language  of  the  place  alleged  (Ka- 
nara)  was  and  is  Dravidian,  utterly  different  from 
Sanscrit ;  that  it  is  incredible  that  a  Mussulman 
Arab  chief  would  marry  his  daughter  to  a  Hindoo 
prince  practising  suttee." 

It  has  been  argued  that  H^l^ne  acquired  her 
knowledge  of  Sanscrit  clairvoyantly  through  her 
subliminal  self  by  a  spirit.  A  better  explanation  is 
now  possible.      In  a  recent  article  giving  observa- 


A  Secondary  Self  271 

tions  upon  this  case  down  to  1902,  Professor  Flour- 
noy  tells  us  that  in  the  study  of  one  of  Mile.  Smith's 
spiritist  friends  where  she  often  gave  her  sittings  has 
been  discovered  a  Sanscrit  grammar  containing  the 
characteristic  words  used  by  her  in  her  trances. 
H61^ne  honestly  denies  that  she  has  ever  consulted 
a  Sanscrit  grammar,  or  has  ever  seen  one.  Still  the 
fact  remains  that  she  has  often  had  the  opportunity 
of  doing  so  and  that  her  knowledge  of  Sanscrit  is 
just  what  a  quick  eye  and  a  good  memory  could 
have  acquired  in  a  few  hours  from  such  a  source, 
especially  when  quickened  by  hypnotic  suggestion 
to  unusual  power  of  concentration. 

The  first  decided  appearance  of  the  Martian  ex- 
perience took  place  at  the  house  of  M.  Lemaitre, 
also  a  professor  in  the  University  of  Geneva,  on  the 
evening  of  November  25,  1894.  H^lfene  perceives 
in  the  distance  and  at  great  height  a  bright  light. 
She  declares  that  she  is  ascending  and  soon  an- 
nounces that  she  is  walking  on  the  planet  Mars. 
Then  follows  a  description  of  the  strange  things  she 
sees  there :  carriages  gliding  by  emitting  sparks,  but 
without  horses  or  wheels;  houses  with  fountains  on 
the  roof;  a  child  in  a  cradle  just  like  our  children; 
people  that  look  exactly  like  the  inhabitants  of  earth 
except  that  both  sexes  wear  the  same  costume;  a 
professor  lecturing  in  a  great  hall  to  a  vast  assembly 
of  youthful  hearers. 

Much  later  in  another  seance  she  attends  a  family 
fite  on  Mars,  where  the  people  salute  each  other  by 
caressing  the  hair  instead  of  shaking  hands.  At  the 
banquet  the  tables  are  laid  with  square  plates  and 


272     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

with  forks  having  no  handles.  The  food  is  cut  up 
into  square  pieces  by  the  head  of  the  family  by 
means  of  sharp  silver  tips  fastened  to  the  ends  of  his 
fingers,  and  then  it  is  passed  among  the  guests. 
When  the  dancing  begins  th-e  young  people  simply 
put  their  hands  on  each  other's  shoulders,  arranging 
themselves  in  groups  of  four  and  eight. 

These  scenes  give  a  fair  sample  of  all  the  inform- 
ation Hel^ne  has  attempted  to  give  us  of  the  condi- 
tion of  affairs  upon  this  far-off  world.  During  more 
than  two  years  and  a  half  of  revelations  she  has 
nowhere  shown  the  slightest  conception  of  the  quest- 
ions which  every  cultivated  person  in  our  day  is 
anxious  to  have  answered  concerning  the  state  of 
this  planet.  No  one  of  her  Martian  creations  at  all 
transcends  the  data  that  she  can  reasonably  be  sup- 
posed to  have  acquired  by  the  use  of  her  normal 
powers. 

This  applies  also  to  the  Martian  language  that  on 
several  occasions  Hel^ne  has  made  use  of.  There 
are  in  all  a  dozen  of  these  texts  written  in  a  Martian 
alphabet.  But  by  a  careful  analysis  of  this  so-called 
Martian  language  Professor  Flournoy  has  shown  it 
to  be  only  disguised  French.  All  the  letters  have 
an  exact  equivalent  in  French  and  the  idioms  are 
French.  It  has  also  been  thoroughly  studied  by 
Professor  Victor  Henry  of  Paris,  and  there  is  a 
general  agreement  that  it  is  only  an  elaborate  but 
childish  imitation  of  French  such  as  a  girl  brought 
up  as  H61fene  has  been  and  in  such  circumstances  as 
she  has  found  herself  might  naturally  employ.  The 
use  of  Ultramartian  and  Uranian  tongues  with  which 


A  Secondary  Self  273 

she  has  more  recently  been  accredited  is  probably  to 
be  explained  in  a  similar  manner. 

It  was  on  the  30th  of  January,  1894,  that  H^l^ne 
first  announced  herself  as  the  reincarnation  of  Marie 
Antoinette,  but  the  character  did  not  reach  its  climax 
till  nearly  three  years  later.  On  November  i,  1897, 
this  somnambulistic  role  maintained  itself  for  several 
hours.  The  role  seems  to  be  most  admirably  adapted 
to  H^l^ne's  nature  and  ambitions.  "When  the 
royal  trance  is  complete,"  says  Professor  Flournoy, 
"no  one  can  fail  to  note  the  grace,  elegance,  distinc- 
tion, majesty  sometimes,  that  shine  forth  in  H^l^ne's 
every  attitude  and  gesture."  And  he  dilates  at 
length  upon  the  charming  amiability,  condescend- 
ing hauteur,  and  overpowering  scorn  that  she  suc- 
cessively manifests  as  a  long  line  of  courtiers  file 
past.  Even  the  way  she  handles  her  fan,  her  binocle, 
her  smelling  bottle,  and  her  imaginary  train  is  per- 
fection itself,  he  says,  in  its  ease  and  naturalness. 

How  far  she  personates  the  actual  unhappy  Aus- 
trian wife  of  Louis  XVI.  is  less  evident.  The  hand- 
writing of  the  letters  she  writes  in  this  state  is 
decidedly  different  from  that  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
and  so  is  the  mode  of  expressing  her  thoughts.  She 
never  makes  any  reference  to  her  Austrian  girlhood, 
and  never  mounts  the  scaffold  as  Simandini  ascends 
her  funeral  pile.  Many  of  the  scenes  she  enacts  are 
properly  located  in  the  gardens  or  apartments  of 
the  Petit  Trianon,  and  the  furniture  of  her  rooms  is 
always  that  of  Louis  XVI.  Often  she  kneels  before 
the  cradle  where  the  little  Dauphin  and  his  sister  lie 

asleep  and  sings  in  a  low  sweet  voice  a  nursery 

18 


2  74     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

rhyme  of  her  own  composition  having  a  soft  plaint- 
ive melody.  Then  she  tenderly  kisses  the  imaginary 
cradle  and  utters  a  fervent  prayer  to  the  Virgin  for 
her  protection  and  care. 

The  most  constant  of  her  companions  are  her 
"dear  sorcerer,"  the  Count  of  Cagliostro  (with 
whom  she  never  tires  of  discussing  a  great  variety 
of  subjects,  including  the  future  life,  the  existence  of 
God,  and  the  details  of  the  last  royal  fete),  Louis 
Philippe  d'Orl^ans  (figalit^),  and  the  Marquis  de 
Mirabeau.  The  last  two  she  identifies  with  two  of 
the  sitters,  and  if  they  are  present  and  attempt  to 
sustain  their  part  in  the  role  the  personation  will  be 
kept  up  for  hours. 

When  one  of  them  takes  the  Queen  out  to  dine 
she  pays  no  attention  at  all  to  the  other  guests,  or 
to  the  servants,  eating  and  drinking  only  what  her 
host  sets  before  her.  "And  it  is  no  sinecure,"  says 
Professor  Flournoy,  "to  supply  the  wants  of  this 
august  neighbour,  since  she  possesses  a  truly  royal 
appetite.  The  amount  of  food  which  she  devours 
and  the  goblets  of  wine  which  she  drinks  off  one 
after  another,  without  suffering  any  inconvenience, 
are  astounding,  as  in  her  normal  state  Mile.  Smith 
is  sobriety  itself  and  eats  very  little."  After  dinner 
coffee  follows  in  the  salon,  and  the  evening  is  passed 
in  varied  and  at  times  witty  conversation  upon  the 
topics  of  the  hour.  Finally  the  Queen  quietly  sinks 
to  sleep  in  an  easy  chair,  waking  up  at  the  end  of 
an  hour  with  no  recollection  whatever  of  anything 
that  has  occurred  during  the  evening,  as  hungry  and 
thirsty  as  though  she  had  eaten  nothing.     A  glass 


A  Secondary  Self  275 

of  water  satisfies  her,  however,  and  she  walks  home 
wide-awake  entirely  restored  to  her  usual  powers. 

Professor  Flournoy  explains  all  these  remarkable 
changes  in  the  personality  of  H^lfene  Smith  as  due 
to  her  subliminal  consciousness.  H61ene  herself  be- 
lieves with  all  her  heart  in  the  spirit  hypothesis  and 
sincerely  maintains  that  she  has  been  for  years  under 
the  control  and  guidance  of  discarnate  powers.  We 
do  not  see  the  necessity  for  either  theory,  and  would 
attribute  all  her  extraordinary  states  to  an  abnorm- 
ally vivid  imagination  stimulated  to  a  high  degree  of 
intensity  by  hypnotic  suggestion  and  developed  to 
its  present  perfection  by  constant  exercise  through 
a  series  of  years. 

It  is  well  known  that  H^lfene  early  manifested  a 
strong  tendency  to  give  herself  up  to  day-dreaming 
and  hap-hazard  plays  of  the  fancy.  She  recalls 
many  a  half  hour  in  her  girlhood  when  she  sat 
motionless  in  an  easy  chair  seeing  all  sorts  of  strange 
sights,  such  as  highly  coloured  landscapes,  mutilated 
pieces  of  statuary,  animals  of  extraordinary  appear- 
ance and  size,  and  other  objects  bearing  a  close  re- 
semblance to  those  seen  in  her  Martian  and  Hindoo 
visions.  Even  when  still  in  her  teens  she  would 
wake  up  in  the  night  and  see  her  room  filled  with 
strange  and  unknown  beings.  Disinclined  to  play 
with  other  children,  she  spent  her  leisure  hours  in 
working  out  with  her  needle  the  bizarre  designs  of 
her  own  fertile  brain. 

Her  father  was  a  Hungarian  who,  after  travelling 
extensively  in  Italy  and  Algiers,  established  himself 
in  Geneva  as  a  merchant.      He  was  noted  for  his 


276     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

facility  in  languages,  which  accounts  in  large  measure 
for  H^l^ne's  remarkable  attempts  to  speak  with 
tongues.  Her  mother  has  always  been  inclined  to 
spiritism  and  has  had  her  own  sporadic  visions. 
Thus  we  see  that  by  heredity  and  temperament 
H^l^ne  was  admirably  fitted  to  become  a  medium, 
and  when  the  suggestion  came  to  her  that  she  could 
communicate  with  the  departed,  she  improved  it  to 
the  full  and  has  astonished  the  world  with  her  mar- 
vellous products. 

But  even  Myers  calls  the  case  one  of  "pseudo- 
possession.  ' '  No  other  hypothesis  so  fully  accounts 
for  the  divers  personalities  that  have  manifested 
themselves  in  the  course  of  her  hypnoidal  life  as  the 
one  that  calls  them  the  varied  psychological  states 
of  H6lfene  herself, — phases  of  her  own  personality 
that  absorb  for  the  time  being  all  her  memory 
and  thought  and  will. 

Another  alleged  case  of  secondary  personality  now 
attracting  much  attention  is  known  as  the  Watseka 
Wonder.  It  was  originally  reported  in  the  Religio- 
Philosophical  Journal  for  1879  by  Dr.  E.  W.  Stevens 
of  Janesville,  Wisconsin,  but  recently  investigated 
afresh  by  Dr.  Richard  Hodgson.  On  February  i, 
1878,  a  girl  living  in  Watseka,  Illinois,  about  four- 
teen years  of  age,  by  the  name  of  Lurancy  Vennum, 
claimed  to  be  Mary  Roff,  a  neighbour's  daughter 
who  had  been  dead  nearly  thirteen  years.  Her  own 
parents  she  no  longer  recognised,  and  she  pined  so 
constantly  to  go  home  "to  her  pa  and  ma  and 
brothers"  that  she  was  sent  to  live  with  the  Roffs, 
"where,"  according  to  the  report,  "she  met  her  pa 


A  Secondary  Self  277 

and  ma  and  each  member  of  the  family  with  the 
most  gratifying  expressions  of  love  and  affection  by 
words  and  embraces  .  .  .  and  she  made  it  her 
home  there  till  May  2 1st,  three  months  and  ten 
days,  a  happy,  contented  daughter  and  sister  .  .  . 
knowing  every  person  and  everything  that  Mary 
knew  when  in  her  original  body." 

For  some  months  before  becoming  Mary  Roff  she 
had  been  subject  to  fits  or  trances  and  was  generally 
believed  to  be  insane.  At  one  time  she  had  re- 
garded herself  as  an  old  woman  named  Katrina 
Hogan,  at  another  as  a  young  man  named  Willie 
Canning.  As  Mary  Roff  she  was  mild,  docile,  and 
polite,  and  often  visited  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vennum  and 
their  children  with  Mrs.  Roff,  being  introduced  to 
them  as  to  other  strangers.  The  friends  and  neigh- 
bours of  the  Roff  family  during  Mary's  lifetime,  it 
is  said,  she  recognised  and  addressed  by  name,  call- 
ing attention  to  "hundreds  of  incidents  that  tran- 
spired during  her  natural  life."  On  the  2ist  of  May 
she  gradually  became  aware  of  herself  as  Lurancy 
Vennum  and  returned  to  her  real  parents,  all  the 
intervening  period  remaining  a  perfect  blank. 

Dr.  Hodgson  writes  in  regard  to  this  case: 

**  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  incidents  occurred  sub- 
stantially as  described  in  the  narrative  by  Dr.  Stevens, 
and  in  my  view  the  only  interpretation  of  the  case — be- 
sides the  spiritualistic — that  seems  at  all  plausible  is  that 
which  has  been  put  forward  as  the  alternative  to  the 
spiritualistic  theory  to  account  for  the  trance-communi- 
cations of  Mrs.  Piper  and  similar  cases,  viz.,  secondary 
personality   with    supernormal    powers.      .     ,     .      My 


278     Psychology  and  Common  Life 

personal  opinion  is,"  he  says,  "  that  the  Watseka  Wonder 
case  belongs  in  the  main  manifestations  to  the  spiritistic 
category." 

We  do  not  see  the  need  of  either  theory  adequately 
to  account  for  the  facts,  and  we  agree  with  Dr.  Leaf 
that  it  should  be  regarded  as  a  typical  case  of  hysteri- 
cal personation,  very  striking  and  instructive,  but 
chiefly  so  for  its  long  continuance,  nearly  four 
months. 

There  is  no  evidence  from  the  report  that  Lurancy 
Vennum  as  "Mary  Roff"  had  any  knowledge  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Roff  family  and  their  friends  that  she 
could  not  have  obtained  by  normal  means.  The  re- 
port expressly  says  that  she  lived  for  a  time  "about 
fifty  rods  from  the  residence  of  the  Roff  family  and 
for  a  much  longer  time  in  the  suburbs  of  the  same 
town."  It  also  says  that  the  actual  Mary  Roff  had 
had  a  very  unique  history,  being  subject  to  fits  from 
the  age  of  six  months,  which  gradually  increased  in 
violence  to  the  time  of  her  death.  On  one  occasion 
we  are  told  that  she  repeatedly  "cut  her  arm  with  a 
knife  until  she  fainted"  ;  on  another,  after  five  days 
of  raving  mania,  that  "she  recognised  no  one  and 
seemed  to  lose  all  her  natural  senses,  but  when 
blindfolded  could  read  and  do  everything  as  if  she 
saw. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  details  of  such  a 
remarkable  career  would  be  a  matter  of  common 
gossip  and  make  a  strong  impression  upon  Lurancy, 
who  was  herself  going  through  a  similar  experience. 
Furthermore,    the   Roffs  were  "glad  to   have  her 


A  Secondary  Self  279 

come,"  and  did  everything  in  their  power  to  encour- 
age her  in  the  idea  that  she  was  their  Mary.  All  of 
Mary's  sayings  and  doings  were  undoubtedly  often 
spoken  of  in  her  hearing  and  the  things  that  had 
belonged  to  Mary  put  to  her  use.  It  is  wholly  pro- 
bable also  that  she  soon  overheard  Mary's  friends 
and  the  friends  of  the  family  talked  about  and  so  had 
some  knowledge  of  them  before  they  came  to  call. 
It  is  a  fact  that  we  find  nothing  in  the  record  con- 
cerning any  mistakes  and  failures  on  the  part  of 
Lurancy  in  the  assumption  of  this  rdle,  but  this  will 
hardly  surprise  us  when  we  consider  the  incom- 
petency of  the  witnesses  and  the  state  of  feeling 
concerning  the  case  that  prevailed  at  the  time. 

From  many  standpoints  none  of  the  cases  of 
alleged  secondary  personality  can  compare  with  the 
case  of  Mrs.  Piper.  Her  experiences  are  decidedly 
the  most  varied  and  complex  of  any  that  have  come 
to  our  knowledge.  We  have  already  shown  how 
they  make  telepathy  probable —that  is,  telepathy 
with  the  living,  not  telepathy  with  the  dead.  That 
she  has  impersonated  in  her  trances  departed  spirits 
in  a  most  impressive  way  can  hardly  be  denied,  but 
we  think  they  are  best  explained  as  the  creations  of 
her  own  abnormally  vivid  imagination,  the  material 
for  which  she  has  obtained  partly  from  her  sitters  by 
telepathy  and  partly  by  the  use  of  her  normal 
powers. 

The  inner  voice  of  Socrates  showing  how  a  pure 
soul  almost  instinctively  perceives  what  is  right  and 
wise  in  great  emergencies,  the  visions  of  Joan  of  Arc 
calling  her  to  battle  for  her  distressed  country,  even 


28o    Psychology  and  Common  Life 

such  wakeful  dreams  as  Robert  Louis  Stevenson's 
Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde,  as  well  as  the  cases  de- 
scribed above,  are  only  made  more  mysterious  and 
perplexing  by  being  referred  to  a  subliminal  self.    At 
its  best,  the  doctrine  of  the  existence  of  such  a  self 
is  merely  an  asylum  ignorantice,  "a  land  of  darkness," 
as  Professor  Schiller  of  Oxford  University  calls  it, 
"where  all  analogies  fail  us  and  where  anything  may 
happen."     To  adopt  it  is  to  explain  the  known  by 
the  more    unknown,  a   method   of  procedure  that 
blocks  the  way  instead  of  helping  us  on  to  a  more 
rational  conception  of  the  world  in  which  we  live  and 
to  the  highest  development  of  our  powers.     If  we 
are  to  look  to  our  subliminal  self  as  the  fundamental 
revealer  of  truth  and  the  source  of  our  noblest  in- 
spirations, the  less  we  strive  to  cultivate  our  normal 
powers  the  better  for  all  concerned.     Anything  that 
causes  us  to  fall  into  an  hypnotic  trance,  or  even  a 
state  of  coma,  may  be  the  most  effectual  means  of 
bringing  us  into  accord  with  the  true  and  the  good. 
But  all  genuine  progress  hitherto  has  been  in  just 
the  opposite  direction,  from  sleep  to  wakefulness. 
The  most  intelligent  people  thus  far  have  been  those 
who  were  the  most  wide-awake,  those  who  were  in 
most  complete  possession  of  their  normal  powers. 
The  great  leaders  of  the  race,  instead  of  being  with- 
out a  conscious  plan  or  purpose,  have  known  far 
more  clearly  and  definitely  than  their  contemporaries 
what  they  were  about.     And  it  is  not  likely  that  the 
course  of  human  experience  will  be  reversed. 

We  have  not  needed  to  make  use  of  the  spirit 
theory  to  account  for  the  facts  cited  in  this  chapter. 


A  Secondary  Self  281 

But  if  we  had  to  choose  between  the  hypothesis  of 
a  departed  spirit  and  that  of  a  subliminal  self  we 
should  decide  for  the  former.  For  it  would  be  an 
appeal  to  beings  having  minds  and  motives  like  our 
own  and  therefore  knowable,  not  a  wholly  mysteri- 
ous entity  of  whose  modes  of  action  we  can  never 
have  any  direct  knowledge. 

It  is  impossible  to  set  any  limit  to  the  mind's 
future  development.  We  have  little  appreciation 
of  how  it  came  to  be  what  it  now  is  with  all  its  won- 
derful powers,  or  of  what  it  may  ultimately  become. 
Its  use  of  the  brain  is  as  yet  most  rudimentary  and 
inefficient,  for  in  all  probability  a  large  proportion 
of  our  brain  capacity  still  lies  dormant  and  unem- 
ployed. Our  environment  is  infinite  and  our  present 
adjustment  to  it  most  unstable  and  incomplete.  We 
have,  therefore,  no  right  to  say  that  any  of  our 
present  mental  powers  have  reached  their  climax,  or 
that  entirely  new  faculties  may  not  manifest  them- 
selves in  the  future  evolution  of  the  race. 


INDEX 


Agassiz  on  attention,  36 
American  crowbar  case,  7-9 
Aristotle,    on    memory,  50;    on 

dreams,  ill 
Arithmetical  prodigies,  251-256 
Attention,  how  distinguished 
from  consciousness,  28;  its 
two  kinds,  29-31;  its  relation 
to  sensation,  32-34;  to  per- 
ception, 34-37;  to  memory, 
37-38;  to  thought,  39-40;  to 
feeling,  40-42;  to  will,  42-44; 
to  education,  45-47 


B 


Barbe     on     the     miracles      of 

Lourdes,  209-214 
Beaunis,  on   hallucinations,  88- 

89;  experiments  in  hypnotism, 

143,  147-149 
Bernadette  of  Lourdes,  206-212 
Bernheim  on  hallucinations,  88 
Binet,  experiments  in  hypnotism, 

147 

BjomstrSm,  cases  of  effects  of 
mind  on  body,  167-168 

Blavatsky,  Madame,  her  tele- 
pathic claims,  228-231 


Boissarie,  Dr.,  on  the  miracles 

of  Lourdes,  208-216 
Bourne,  Rev.  Ansel,  258-260 
Braid,  Dr.,  on  hypnotism,  135— 

137 

Brain,  its  size,  weight,  and  con- 
dition when  undeveloped,  4— 
7;  cases  of  its  injury,  7-12; 
its  chief  divisions  and  centres, 
14-20;  how  developed  by 
training,  22-24;  susceptibility 
to  disease,  24-25 

Bramwell,  Dr.,  on  hypnotism 
and  disease,  177-181 

Bridgman,  Laura,  12-13 

Buckley,  Dr.,  on  effects  of  mind 
on  body,  168;  on  faith-heal- 
ing, 205 


Calderwood  on  relation  of  brain 

to  imbecility,  4 
Carter,  Dr.,  effects  of  mind  on 

body,  162-163 
Charcot,  stages    in    hypnotism, 

140;  experiments  in  producing 

burns  by  hypnotism,  149 
Christian    Science,    relation    to 

mental  healing,  187-189,  201; 

Mrs.  Eddy's  views,  189-197 


283 


284 


Index 


Crookes,  Sir  William,  experi- 
ments in  hypnotism,  131 

D 

Darwin,  on  attention,  27;  on 
dreams,  in 

Donaldson,  Prof.,  on  the  brain 
of  Laura  Bridgman,  12-13 

Dowie,  Dr.,  as  a  divine  healer, 
202-203 

Dreams,  condition  of  the  mind 
in,  1 10-126;  relation  to  re- 
ligion, 123-125;  to  secondary 
self,  256-257 

Durham,  Arthur,  experiments 
regarding  sleep,  104-105 


E 


Eddy,  Mrs.,  her  life  and  views 

on  healing,  189-197 
Edson,  Dr.  Cyrus,  on  sleep,  103 
Elliotson  and  hypnotism,  135 


Faith-cure,  201-206 
Fere,  on  hallucinations,  89;  ex- 
periments in  hypnotism,  145- 

147 
Fire-walk,  the,  1 71-174 
Flournoy,    Prof.,    on    the   case 

of  Hel^ne  Smith,  267-276 
Forel,  Prof.,  on  hallucinations, 

87-88 


Goddard,   Dr.,   effects  of  mind 
on    body,     163-164;     law    of 


these    effects,     182;     on    Dr, 
Dowie's  divine  healing  home, 
202-203 
Greely,     Lieutenant,     effect    of 
mind  on  body,  170-171 

H 

Habit,  23-24 

Hallucinations,  classification  of, 
79;  those  of  sight,  79-82;  of 
hearing,  82-84;  of  touch,  84- 
86;  of  suggestion,  86-90;  of 
memory,  92-96;  of  reasoning, 
97;  relation  to  witchcraft,  98- 
100;  to  demonology,  loo-ioi 

Hammond,  Dr.  W.  A.,  on  sleep, 
105;  on  telepathy,  235-236 

Hauser,  Kasper,  80-8 1 

Hecker,  Dr.,  on  the  dancing 
mania,  164-165 

Hodgson,  Dr.  Richard,  on  the 
case  of  Madame  Blavatsky, 
229-231  ;  on  the  case  of  Mrs. 
Piper,  238-241 ;  on  the  Wat- 
seka  wonder,  276-279 

Hypnotism,  its  history,  127-137; 
means  of  producing  it,  138- 
139;  its  stages,  139-140;  ef- 
fects on  memory,  142-144 ;  on 
imagination,  144-147 ;  on 
organic  life,  148-151 ;  relation 
to  education  of  defectives  and 
the  law,  151-158 

Hyslop,  Prof.,  his  experiments 
with  Mrs.  Piper,  241-246 


James,  Prof.,  on  hallucinations, 
83  ;  on  telepathy,  235  ;  on  the 


Index 


285 


James,  Prof. — Continued 

case  of  Mrs.  Piper,  237-238  ; 
on  the  case  of  Rev.  Ansel 
Bourne,  258-260 

Janet,  Prof.,  on  the  case  of  Ma- 
dame B.,  262-264 

Jastrow,    Prof.,   on  involuntary 
movements,  222 

K 

Keller,  Helen,  13 


Ladd,  Prof.,  on  ancestral  experi- 
ences recorded  in  the  brain, 
17  ;  on  inattention,  28,  29 

Langley,  Prof.,  on  the  fire-walk 
in  Tahiti,  174 

Liebault,  on  hypnotism  in  pro- 
ducing real  burns,  148-149  ;  in 
education  of  defectives,  151 

Liegeois,  experiments  in  hypno- 
tism, 146-147,  154-155 

Lodge,  Prof.,  experiments  with 
Mrs.  Piper,  240 

Lourdes,  village  of,  206  ;  mira- 
cles of,  206-218 

M 

McMaster   on   some   revivals  in 

Kentucky  in  1800,  129-130 
Memory,  as  retention,  51-60  ;  as 
reproduction,    60-66 ;    as    re- 
cognition, 66  ;  loss  of,  67-68  ; 
trustworthiness      of,     68-72 ; 
training  of,  72-75 
Mental  healing,  187-189,  201 
Mesmer  and  hypnotism,  131-134 
Meyers,   Dr.,  on   safeguards   of 


hypnotism,  153  ;  on  telepathy, 

236-237  ;    on  subliminal  self, 

250-251 
Mind,    relation    to    disease     in 

wakefulness,       159-174;       in 

hypnotic  sleep,  174-182 
Mind-reading,  221,  224 
Miracles  of  Lourdes,  206-218 
Mosso,     Dr.,     experiments     on 

sleep,  105-107 
Munk,    Prof.,    experiments    on 

animals,  52-53 


Piper,  Mrs.,  237-248 

Podmore  on  telepathy,  227,  231- 

232 
Prince,  Dr.,  on  the  case  of  Miss 

Beauchamp,  264-266 


Quimby,  Phineas  P.,  on  mental 
healing,  187-189 

R 

Ribot,  on  hallucinations,  92 
Richet,   experiments   in   hypno- 
tism,   145-146 ;   in   telepathy, 

234 
Romanes,  on  hallucinations,  91 ; 
on  dreams,  iii 


Schiller,  Prof. ,  on  the  subliminal 
self,  280 

Scripture,  Prof.,  on  hallucina- 
tions, 85  ;  on  arithmetical 
prodigies,  251-254 


286 


Index 


Secondary  self,  in  arithmetical 
prodigies,  251-256  ;  in  dreams, 
256-257  ;  in  hypnotic  trance, 
257-279 

Sidgwick,  Prof,  and  Mrs.,  ex- 
periments in  telepathy,  232- 
235 

Sleep,  facts  and  theories  concern- 
ing, 103-110  ;  condition  of  the 
mind  in,  1 10-126 

Spencer,  Herbert,  on  memory, 
51 

Starr,  Dr.  Allen,  on  a  case  of 
brain  surgery,  lo-ii  ;  on  brain 
cells,  16 ;  on  reasoning  cen- 
tres, 19-20  ;  on  memory  cen- 
tres, 56-57 

Stigmatisation,  149-150 

Sully,  on  illusions,  95 


Telepathy,  in  wakefulness,  224- 
232  ;  in  hypnotic  trance,  232- 
249 

Thompson,  Mrs.,  and  telepathy, 
246-248 

Tuke,  Dr.,  on  the  power  of  a 
dominant  idea,  34 ;  on  effect 
of  mind  on  body,  160-161 


Voisin    on   hypnotism   and  dis- 
ease, 174-177 

W 

Watseka  wonder,  276-279 
Wetterstrand,  Dr.,  experiments 
in  hypnotism,  137 


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